


Color of Midnight - Chapters 1 thru 16, The

by scullyslash_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-02-16
Updated: 1999-02-16
Packaged: 2018-11-20 03:46:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 39,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11327982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scullyslash_archivist/pseuds/scullyslash_archivist
Summary: Scully's past catches up to her, and turns out to be dangerously tangled with an X File.





	Color of Midnight - Chapters 1 thru 16, The

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [ScullySlash](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Scully_Slash_Archive), which moved to the AO3 to ensure the stories are always available and so that authors may have complete control of their own works.. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [ScullySlash's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/scullyslash/profile).

 

The Color Of Midnight by K. Daniels

TITLE: The Color Of Midnight  
AUTHOR: K. Daniels  
FEEDBACK TO: (public discussion okay)  
ARCHIVING: Fine, please tell me where  
SPOILERS: Fight the Future  
KEYWORDS: Scully/Other; ScullySlash  
RATING: PG  
SUMMARY: Scully's past catches up to her, and turns out to be dangerously tangled with an X File.  
DISCLAIMER: Scully, Mulder, Skinner, etc. etc. all belong to Chris Carter and 1013, except for Jane, she belongs to me. Please do not sue me, I am making no financial profit from the unauthorized use of these characters.  
NOTE: This is my first fanfic ever, so please, go easy on me. However, I also want your honest feedback. I've finished four chapters, and have ideas for more. That is, if anyone is interested in more. I hope you enjoy it.  
SPECIAL THANKS: To shadow for her interest, inspiration, and feedback.

* * *

The Color Of Midnight

CHAPTER ONE

*Friday, 10:47 a.m., Hoover FBI building*

"Okay, let me get this straight" Dana Scully mused as she came around her partners desk to look more closely at the photograph in his hand. "You are expecting me to believe that this boy·" She pointed to the photo "·that this boy is a Werewolf?"

"Is that so unreasonable, Scully?" Mulder asked staring into the ice blue eyes of his redheaded partner.

"Mulder, I·" Scully searched for the words. "This is a bit much, even for you." She finally blurted

"Scully" Mulder implored "Draw outside the lines for a change"

"There's outside of the lines, and then there's completely off the page, Mulder" Scully scolded with an arch of her eyebrow.

Mulder laughed at his partners disapproving gaze. Yet he knew that she would follow him down this path, as she had countless others. Sometimes the path proved to be dangerous, as it had this summer when Scully almost died searching for the truth. Mulder shivered at the memory of finding her frozen naked body in the belly of the alien vessel. That was a close one, in which they had narrowly escaped death, but the experience had restored Mulder's faith in his work, and had given the two agents a renewed commitment to each other.

"Okay, Scully, I'm going to give you the opportunity to prove me wrong." Mulder challenged "Even though I don't think you can."

"Have I ever proven anything to you Mulder?" Scully inquired, flopping into the chair on the other side of the desk.

"Let's see, um, there was the flukeman thing." Mulder reminded "And let's not forget about Pusher and of course Tooms-the-liver-eating-boy."

"Right, but you believed what you wanted about each of those cases, long before I ever tested your theories. You know, come to think of it, that's your problem, Mulder, you don't need proof. You blindly believe every situation, so eager to see the truth as you believe it to be that you forgo any notion of suitable scientific formulas! It isn't until I follow up with proven methodical approaches that we are able to definitively categorize the phenomenon we come across." Scully paused "Haven't you learned by now, Mulder, that there is nothing in this universe that cannot be explained by using scientific means? Granted, we may not know how to find the evidence, or even the truth, but I would bet my weight in gold that any answer that is ever going to be discovered, is found under the glare of a microscope or through the analysis of a scientific equation." Scully leaned back, satisfied with her little lecture, and fully aware that it was completely lost on her partner.

"I just love it when you talk dirty to me, Scully."

Dana Scully rolled her eyes and lobbed a pencil at her partner, hitting him in the shoulder and almost knocking him off balance and out of his chair as he tried to catch it.

"Careful there pal, she has a wicked arm"

Mulder and Scully looked up, startled. Standing in the doorway was a young attractive woman in a Secret Service uniform. She was about Scully's height with short black hair and penetrating brown eyes. She stepped further into the room, and a look of recognition came across Scully's face as she stood to greet their visitor.

"Jane" She muttered, completely surprised at the woman's presence in her office. "Oh my god, Janie Whitlaw!" Scully declared

"In the flesh, Kate" The young woman replied, her arms wide.

Scully stepped over to her and gave her a warm hug. "I can't believe it's you, I haven't seen you since...god has it been since college?" Scully asked

"Yep, since that day you packed up and went to Med School" Jane replied

"Kate?"

Scully turned to find Mulder standing behind his desk giving the two women a puzzled look

"Did you just call her Kate?" Mulder asked his eyes glistening with devilish curiosity.

Scully's face reddened and she cursed the fair skin that betrayed every embarrassing moment

"Later, Mulder" Scully warned "I might explain it to you later."

Mulder walked around the desk and held out his hand "Fox Mulder" he introduced "I'm-'Kate's'-Partner" Mulder glanced at Scully and read loud and clear her drop-this-right-now stare.

"Nice to meet you, Fox" Jane said, shaking the offered hand

"No, it's just Mulder, call me Mulder"

"Okay, Mulder" Jane agreed. She turned back to Scully and got lost in her eyes. Feeling the heat rise in her cheeks, Scully was the first to look away.

"So, Janie, what·you're with the Secret Service?" Scully asked, pointing to the chair she had just vacated as she leaned against the top of the desk. Mulder stood beside his partner, not wanting to miss a word of this promising conversation. He had long wondered about Scully's past, she didn't talk a lot about it, and it seemed that the key to his interest was wrapped in this pretty package now standing in his office.

"Yeah, can you fucking believe it?" Jane said raising her arms and then letting them fall to her sides. She took the seat that Scully offered and looked at the two agents. "After I finished Law school, I decided that I hated the thought of being a lawyer. I looked for a new career and just kind of fell into this one." She looked down at her white, black and gold uniform "Uniformed division, I know it's not as glamorous as plainclothes, but I like it." she shrugged.

"How long have you been in DC?" Mulder asked

"I just moved here three months ago" The dark haired woman replied "I had been working in California, and then got reassigned to the DC bureau after I put in for a transfer. I had a few problems with my boss back in LA and so instead of raising a stink, I decided to just make a graceful exit." That wasn't entirely the truth, but Jane didn't feel the need for full disclosure at this time.

"Well" Scully sighed "So, how did you find me?" She hoped her voice didn't betray her true feelings at having been found by her former friend, and former·well, she didn't want to think about that right now. She wasn't sure how to interpret the feelings that were churning up inside of her, and she knew if she allowed any of them to bubble to the surface, Mulder would figure it out. And she definitely didn't want to have that conversation, at least not yet.

"I've kind of kept up with your career, agent Scully" Jane answered. "In fact, I've been reading articles about you on a regular basis." Jane looked over at Mulder "And quite frankly, Fox, er, Mulder, you're kind of a celebrity to me" The admiration in her eyes was evident

Mulder raised his eyebrows, intrigued "How so?"

"Let's see" Counting her fingers " MUFON, NICAP, oh, and of course the 'Lone Gunman' Jane volunteered "Oh, and Kate, I saw you in a rather·" She put her finger to her chin, trying to figure out the best way to tease her friend. "·entertaining, alien autopsy video, It's nice to see you're still into making films"

"Still?" Mulder asked as he leaned sideways to glance at his partner, his interest even more piqued.

"Never mind" Scully snapped. She had to get Jane out of here, before she shared all of her past secrets with Mulder.

"Would you have made anything I might have seen?" Mulder inquired

"That depends on what floats your boat, agent Mulder" Jane replied, giving the handsome agent a wink

"Okay." Scully blurted, standing up and pushing Mulder through the door "Why don't you go get the slides on wolf-boy now, and take your time?" Scully ordered.

"But I thought·" Mulder started

"I don't care what you thought" Scully hissed, her hand on Mulder's chest. "Get the pictures and try and convince me that angelic little boy is a werewolf."

With a devilish grin, "Scully, did I bring up a sensitive subject with the film·?"

Scully pushed him over the threshold and pulled the door shut before he could finish the sentence. She turned back to her friend who was still sitting in the chair Scully had offered about a hundred years ago.

"Gee, Dana, that was a little rude" Jane teasingly accused

Scully waited a few minutes before saying anything. She leaned against the door, her arms folded, not sure where to begin or what to do with the stunning woman sitting before her, all she knew was that she was growing increasingly uncomfortable. Finally, after a deafening silence, she spoke.

"Janie, don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to see you, but I'm not the same person I was in college" She took a deep breath " And I don't really care to have all of that dredged up." She thumbed towards the door "Especially not in front of him."

Jane was thrown a little off guard, "Kate, what's happened to you?"

"Please, don't call me Kate." Scully requested, pinching the bridge of her nose and squeezing her eyes shut.

Jane was beginning to wonder what had happened to her friend's sense of humor. She used to love being called Kate. "What's wrong, do you have a headache?" She asked, standing up to offer the chair to Dana

"Actually, yes, yes I do." Scully replied and stepped over to lean against the desk.

"I hope it wasn't brought on by me." Jane stated, her eyes wide as she placed the palm of her hand over her chest.

"Well, let's see. I didn't have it until you stopped by, which, I still don't know why you're here." Scully snapped more harshly than she had intended.

Jane was hurt by her ex roommate's bluntness. This was definitely not the Dana Scully she had once known. Sure, Dana had always been very studious and scientific. She definitely had her moments of remoteness, but she also knew how to let her hair down and have fun, too. It almost seemed as though Dana were ashamed of her. 'That's it' Jane realized, 'she's ashamed of me·of us'. Suddenly Jane was disheartened. Here she thought Scully would be glad to see her, but instead all she seemed to be bringing the pensive redhead was discomfort and shame. Well, she'd fix that right away.

"Look, Dana, it's pretty obvious that you don't want to see me, that you'd prefer to just forget that 'we' ever even existed. So I will do you a favor·" She stood up "·and disappear." She walked towards the door and turned before opening it. "I had hoped that you would still feel about me the way I never stopped feeling about you." Jane's throat tightened and her eyes threatened to well up with tears. She didn't want to show this weakness in front of Dana, so quickly turned on her heel and opened the door just as Mulder was about to enter.

"Hey, Jane·" Mulder began, holding the requisitioned slides in his hand. But the Secret Service officer was quickly walking down the hall, and either didn't hear, or didn't care, that Mulder was calling after her.

"What happened?" Mulder stepped into the room and found Scully slumped against the desk. She was staring at her hands as they lay limply in her lap. The look on his partner's face told him all he needed to know.

"Scully, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mulder" Scully said, but Jane's words were echoing in her mind. She'd barely had time to process how she was feeling, Jane had not given her a chance, how could she expect her to go running into her arms? Scully had made it fairly clear the last time they saw each other that she could not be in Jane's life the way Jane wanted her to be. Still, she wasn't ashamed, she was·well·she was afraid. She was afraid of the torrent of emotions that flooded her body the minute she recognized Jane, the giddy excitement she felt when she'd heard her nickname 'Kate', and the all too infrequent sexual excitement that seeing Jane had produced. Scully had decided long ago to bury that part of herself. She had been hurt by it once before, and she didn't want to risk that kind of pain again. Still, there was no reason why she had to be so hard on Jane. She could see her friends pained face as she'd assumed that Scully was embarrassed by her presence·and their past. It wasn't true, and Scully needed Jane to know that.

"I have to go" She declared as she leapt up from the desk, grabbing her purse and straightening the black pantsuit she was wearing, she walked towards the door. "I'll be back later, Mulder" She waved at the slide projector he was setting up "Start without me." And she was gone; the door closed shut behind her.

"What do you mean start without you? I've already seen these·" Mulder said to the closed door, his hands raised up in bemusement over his partner's swift exit. He shrugged his shoulders and reached into his jacket pocket for a handful of sunflower seeds. "Might as well pass the time till you get back..." He mumbled as he stepped over to the desk and seated with his feet up, grabbed the remote control for the TV and VCR. He popped a few sunflower seeds in his mouth and began sucking. His newest video had arrived that morning, it was guaranteed to be even better than its predecessor. The screen flicked on, Mulder linked his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, a curious grin on his face as he tried to figure out what kind of film-making his partner and her friend had dabbled in during their college days. It probably was as far removed from what he was currently enjoying as it could get. Never would the reserved and always in control Dr. Scully participate in something as naughty as 'Alien Probe II'. It was probably some dull drama class project on the politics of the feminist movement.

End Chapter One

* * *

CHAPTER TWO

Scully ran out the front doors, scanning the area for her friend. There were a lot of law enforcement officers milling about, and differentiating between them wasn't easy. She walked a bit further out the door and stood at the top of the steps, she spotted her "Jane" she yelled. Jane continued walking towards the curb, stretching her arm out in the familiar cab-hailing gesture. "Jane!" She yelled again as she ran towards the Secret Service officer.

Jane turned, her eyes seeking out the voice that had called her name, and then saw the running figure waving at her. A score of butterflies took flight in her stomach.

Scully caught up to her friend and held up her index finger signaling for Jane to allow her the time to catch her breath before speaking. After a few good breaths she reached out for Jane's right hand with her left, noticing the familiar sparks as their hands touched. She searched the officer's eyes for the forgiveness she was about to request. "I'm sorry." Dana offered "I was stupid"

Jane smiled and squeezed Scully's hand. With a nod of her head, she let go and turned back to the traffic, again attempting to hail a cab.

Scully panicked, "Janie", and reached out to her friend, placing her hand on the other woman's petite shoulder. Jane turned

"I heard you, Dana. And I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt my feelings. But I could tell what was going on in there. For some reason, you don't want your partner to know about us, not that there's even an 'us' to speak of anymore." She glanced at the passing traffic, "I could see the shame on your face when I brought up the movie·"

"I just didn't want to have to explain it to Mulder, Jane, I'm not ashamed of anything." Scully implored.

Jane mulled over the events of that morning. It suddenly occurred to her. "You and your partner" She signaled towards the building with a nod of her head "there's something going on between the two of you. You're in love with him" She shook her head "I should have seen it." Jane said more to herself than to her college friend.

"No, no·there's nothing going on between me and Mulder." Scully paused as she looked down at her shifting feet, "I mean, I care about him, and he's one of the few people on this planet that I trust." She looked up at Jane "But our relationship is not a romance·it's kind of in a class of it's own and I don't think I could really explain it to you no matter how I tried."

"Oh" Jane muttered

"So, you see that's not it." Scully voiced. "I know that I was a bitch back there, and I'm sorry, I really am. I am not ashamed of you, or me, or us for that matter." Well, she was partly right.

"Then what is it?"

Scully shrugged "Fear, I guess" she suggested reluctantly. "You just caught me off guard." This wasn't easy to admit.

"Dana, you were never afraid of things before" Jane stated "What happened?"

"Not here" Dana stipulated. "Do you want to grab an early lunch? Or are you on duty?"

"I got off this morning at eight" She glanced at her watch "The graveyard shift"

"Oh, so you probably need to get home to sleep"

"No" Jane grinned "I could go for a bite to eat. Besides, I'm hoping we can do something about your cold feet." Dana must have looked alarmed because Jane immediately put both of her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I promise, no movie jokes and I'll do my best to refrain from calling you Kate, okay?"

Scully nodded and the two friends ambled towards the little cafe located across the street. Scully completely forgot about Mulder, and his slide show, and the werewolf boy, she was fully absorbed in the intoxicating effects of being so close to her college lover.

********************

*Friday, 2:30 p.m. Cafe Tomate*

They'd been at the little cafe for over three hours. So lost in their conversation, and each other, that Scully barely noticed when her cell phone started screaming at her.

"You're pocket is ringing." Jane noticed, pointing to Dana's suit pocket

"Wha-?" Scully started and then realized it was her phone. She pulled the compact Nokia out of her pocket and raised the antenna. "Scully."

"Thanks for ditching me."

"Oh, God, Mulder, I'm sorry." Scully glanced at her watch. She'd been so wrapped up in her conversation and just being with Jane, that she'd forgotten all about Mulder. It was kind of nice in a way, most of her time was spent either with Mulder, working on a case with Mulder, or thinking about Mulder. It was nice to get lost in her own world for a change.

"Yeah, well, forget about the werewolf case, Scully."

"Why? Did you find out the kid just needed a electrolysis tech?" she smirked

"No, he's still a werewolf, it's just that Skinner has something else for us to do, and he's wondering where you are."

"Shit." Scully cursed "What did you tell him?"

"I told him you were out in the field, following a lead on the latest Capitol Hill strangling" Mulder assured his partner

"Thanks, Mulder. I'll be there in a few minutes." Scully pushed the end button on her phone, and lowered the antenna

"You have to go." Jane surmised

"Yeah, my old boss was asking for me." Scully answered, regretfully. This get together with Jane was just what she needed. And the more she spent with her the more comfortable she felt. Although, she still didn't know what to do with all of the conflicting emotions inside of her. She at least knew that she wanted to explore them. Especially if she was ever going to see Jane again, of which she very much hoped she would.

"Dana, I·" Jane suddenly felt very self conscious and vulnerable. "I want to see you again." She reached across the table and took the redhead's hand. She could feel the heat between them; she was sure Scully felt the same way.

Scully had the urge to pull her hand away, she was alarmed at the electric effect Jane's touch had on her. But it *was* exciting, and wonderful, and yet·she couldn't put her finger on what else she was feeling. "I don't know what Mulder has in store for me, it could be nothing, it could be an assignment out of town, I just don't know right now." Dana let go of Jane's hand and reached for her purse. She took out her wallet and put a credit card on the table for the waiter to take. "Why don't you give me a call in the next few days, and we'll try and do this again?" She suggested, knowing how non-committal it sounded. She was suddenly afraid of what could happen if she were alone with Jane, and figured a public place provided the best security of that not happening.

Jane couldn't hide her disappointment, she could tell Scully was reluctant to continue their relationship. Yet she wasn't blind, she saw the way Kate looked at her, the way her breath stopped whenever their hands touched. She couldn't understand why she was holding back. Why she couldn't allow herself to just let go and enjoy the moment? This wasn't the Dana Scully she knew in college, and she was becoming determined to know why, but not today. "Okay, Dana, I'll call you and we'll get together for another three hour lunch." Jane smiled and pushed back her chair. Stiffly she said, "I'm looking forward to it."

Scully left her friend at the restaurant. Why had she pushed Jane away like that? She had been doing fine at lunch, and then all of a sudden she felt an overwhelming sense of·of·.what? She didn't know. She tried to clear her thoughts as she crossed the street to the FBI building and her appointment with AD Skinner.

********************

*Friday, 2:45 p.m. in the back of a yellow cab*

Jane held Scully's credit card in her hand and was tapping it against her lips. She knew just how to find out where she could return it to her friend, who had been in such a hurry to leave that she'd forgotten the piece of plastic with the waiter. A slow grin crept on Janie's face as she formulated a plan. First, though, she had to make a phone call. Krycek had wanted a report, and she was late in filing it. This guy was a real pain in the ass, but Jane knew if she was ever going to get what she wanted, she had to jump through his hoops. The ladder to the top was long, and she wasn't above doing this kind of grunt work to reach the top. In fact, Jane wasn't sure if there was anything she wouldn't do, short of sleeping with him, to get to the top. She wasn't going to let what happened in California happen here, she was going to make sure of it.

End Chapter Two

* * *

CHAPTER THREE

*Friday, 2:50 p.m., AD Skinner's office*

Scully entered Skinner's office, ready for his admonishment over her tardiness. But the look on his face told her otherwise.

"Sit down Agent Scully" Skinner demanded, indicating the chair next to Mulder with a nod of his head.

"What is it, sir?" Scully asked

Skinner looked at Mulder before continuing. "I know I am not technically your boss anymore, but something has come to my attention that I cannot share with agent Spender, and that I think only you and agent Mulder can resolve.

"Sir?" Scully questioned

Skinner threw a file in front of the two agents, who simultaneously inched forward in their chairs to look at it. Skinner opened the file to reveal a fuzzy photograph.

"Who·" Mulder started to ask, and then looked over at Scully for confirmation of what he was seeing. "Krycek?" Mulder asked, not sure why Skinner was showing him this photograph.

"He showed back up in town, under the guise of the Secret Service. I was tipped to his presence through channels I do not care to divulge at this time. It is my source's belief that he is involved in something serious, something involving a diplomat from Korea. We don't know the nature of this assignment·and Krycek is untouchable."

"What the hell do you mean he's untouchable? Jesus, he killed Mulder's father, I'm pretty sure he was involved with Melissa's death. Why can't we go after him?" Scully implored.

"Because, agent Scully, to do so would be suicide." Skinner replied through tightly clenched teeth. "Somehow, Krycek has managed to infiltrate the Secret Service, probably through help from you-know-who, and any attempt to bring him in will only result in our butts in a sling." Skinner stood up and paced behind his desk. "Krycek obviously is working from inside the Secret Service, whatever connection he has made there knows who he is and wants him there for criminal reasons."

"This is insane. You're telling me that Krycek is openly working at a Government agency, an agency that has full access to not only the President of the United States, but to any visiting diplomat and embassy?" Mulder cried as he stood up "This man is a murderer, a traitor, and should be strung up from the nearest light pole for his crimes."

"Mulder, sit down." Skinner demanded "We're going to get nowhere if you go off half cocked and try and bring him down." Skinner shook his head "His connections are more powerful than ours."

"So why bring us in, sir?" Scully asked, "What do you want us to do? It's obvious that Krycek isn't going to be brought to justice, in spite of the crimes against us, against the country, he's immune to our system of justice. So why even bother telling us anything?"

"Because, it is my source's belief that your lives are in danger, and whatever Krycek is plotting with this Korean diplomat has something to do with the X Files."

"But we're not on the X Files anymore." Mulder said sarcastically.

"Not officially, but everyone in the bureau knows about your extracurricular activities. And we all know that Spender is just sitting on the X files."

"With your blessing." Mulder sniped

"Shut up, agent Mulder, and listen to me very carefully" Skinner glanced at the door. "AD Hersh has no idea I have called you in, he is not aware that I am asking you to investigate Krycek's appearance, and if I am asked I will deny everything. But I have good reasons to believe that Krycek is plotting something of which the ramifications could involve not only the death of the X files for good, but also your deaths specifically. And he is going to manage this with the blessing and rubber stamp of the United States Secret Service."

"How?" Scully asked

"That is what I am hoping you will uncover." Skinner stood up "I suggest you try and find out·" Looking directly at Mulder "·through whatever channels you may have, what Krycek is up to."

Skinner walked to the door and rested his hand on the knob "And do so as discretely as possible. Do not contact me unless it is absolutely necessary. And agents, if you succeed with this mission, it could mean your return to the X Files"

"And if we fail?" Mulder asked with his eyebrows raised.

"And if you fail, I don't think I need to spell it out for you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Friday, 4:00 p.m., The Lone Gunman*

"Because we can't go through FBI resources, that's why." Mulder answered incredulously. "Just suffice it so say, that this is an 'unnoficial' investigation."

"But a very serious, and important one, and so we need you guys to be discrete" Scully requested

Frohike smiled "You forget who you are talking with agent Scully, discrete is our middle name."

"I have no doubts about that, but this cannot become fodder for the next edition of your rag, understood?" Mulder instructed.

"No problem" Langly agreed "When do you wan the surveillance to begin?"

"Now would be good." Scully replied "And if you get caught, we can't come to your rescue."

"We won't get caught" Frohike assured the agents.

"Good" Mulder stated and stood up to leave the Lone Gunman office. "Keep us posted, any time, any hour, we want to know what the hell this guy is up to. And we need it sooner rather than later."

Langly gave Mulder a salute "Yes, sir."

Mulder rolled his eyes and opened the door, letting Scully exit before him.

On the way to the car Mulder grabbed Scully's elbow "Do you think Skinner is right? That we could get the X files back?"

"I don't know Mulder, I've never known him to promise something he can't produce, so there must be more at stake here than just our lives." Scully replied pensively.

"That's what I'm thinking too." Mulder nodded, digging the keys out of his pocket to unlock the car. "Care for some Chinese?" He asked his partner.

"No, thanks. I uhm, I have to go home."

Mulder raised his eyebrows. "Big date?"

Scully ignored him and climbed into the passenger side of the FBI issued Taurus.

"Scully, I don't mean to pry·" Mulder started

"Good, I appreciate that, can you drop me off at home on your way back to the office?" Scully asked

"How did you know I was going back to the office?"

"Mulder" Scully said, looking sideways at her partner.

"Maybe we have been working together too long." Mulder laughed.

End Chapter three

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR

*Friday 8:00 p.m., Scully's Apartment*

Scully was running around her apartment trying to clean up in preparation for Jane's visit. 'What the hell was I thinking, calling her to come over tonight?' Scully thought. 'I just saw her this afternoon.'

She was pulled from her thoughts by a knock on the door. "Shit." She muttered. Scully opened the door and Jane was smiling on the other side holding a bottle of wine with one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. "Hi beautiful."

Scully was made a bit nervous with this gesture, but motioned for Jane to come in and took both the wine and the flowers from her friend. "Thanks" She said on the way into the kitchen to get a vase. "These are pretty"

"Your welcome. You're pretty"

"Jane." Scully implored, looking back at the beautiful officer. Jane had changed from her uniform and was wearing a faded pair of Levi's, Havana Joe boots and a ribbed Gap turtleneck in powder blue. She looked stunning. Scully quickly averted her gaze.

"I'm sorry, but it's true. I promise I will behave." Jane said, eyeing Scully's apartment, and agent Scully.

"Have a seat." Dana said as she returned to the living room with two glasses, the wine and the flowers neatly arranged in a crystal vase. Scully set the flowers and wine on the table in front of the sofa and sat next to Jane. She poured a glass for them both and then sat back to clink glasses.

"To old friends?" Jane toasted.

"Yes, old friends" Scully repeated and took a sip of the wine.

"You know, Kate, I've never really gotten over you." Jane started

"Janie·" Scully laughed, resigned. "You really don't believe in beating around the bush, do you?"

"No, not when I know that you feel the same way." Jane answered "And I know you do feel the same way or you wouldn't have called me."

Scully just stared at her friend and wondered how she could have such mixed emotions about this person. On the one hand, Jane was the one person she could trust, save Mulder. And on the other hand, she was the one person that could elicit in her the most fear.

"I suppose I do still have feelings for you, Jane, but that part of my life is over. I can't go back."

"How about going forward, then?" Jane asked, lifting Scully's chin. "You said you would explain to me why this is so hard for you."

Scully sighed, took a big swallow of wine and tried to sift through her thoughts. "To be perfectly honest, I don't really know why it's so hard. I guess once I joined the X Files, once I met Mulder, my life changed." Scully took another sip of wine and realized how lame that sounded. "Actually, I guess it was even before that. During medical school"

"What happened?" Janie asked, tenderly taking Scully's hand in her own

Scully looked at their hands together, it seemed so right so familiar, yet so frightening at the same time. "I don't really remember. I guess I made a decision to focus on my career. I decided that a personal life was too much work. It was too hard."

"Kate, I don't buy that. You were one of the most care-free, happy people I knew." Jane implored "Now you are all business. Serious. Doubtful. You always had so much confidence in yourself. I wonder where that went?"

"Oh, I'm still confident. Ask me anything about the FBI, the X Files, medicine and I have no problems. I'm not a weak person·"

"I wasn't trying to imply that you were·" Jane interrupted "It's just that you were never afraid of *love* before."

Scully looked at Jane and felt a lump form in her throat. 'She's right, I've been afraid to love.' Scully lifted Jane's hand and held it to her lips. "You're right" She whispered. "I've been so afraid" Scully started to cry "I don't know why, I honestly don't"

Jane moved over to her friend and wrapped her in her arms. "Dana, I love you, I've never stopped loving you and I wish I could help you figure this out. I *want* to help you figure this out."

Scully continued to quietly sob. She felt so stupid, what was going on? Why was she losing it? "Janie, I..I guess it's been so long since I have even entertained the idea of being with someone, that I'm overwhelmed by everything that you bring up in me."

Jane tilted Scully's face to meet hers "And what do I bring up in you?"

Scully answered by lightly brushing her lips over Jane's. Scully's body exploded with excitement when their lips touched. She allowed the kiss to become more passionate and leaned back against the armrest while Jane moved her body to lay on top of Dana. Their tongues met and danced, eager to explore and express their mutual need. Jane placed her hands at Scully's waist and moved her mouth to roam down Dana's neck. She planted little kisses all along the way.

Scully felt her body come alive. Feelings, emotions, excitement that she thought had been long dead were now raging within her; screaming their desire to her. She felt her heart pound, her hands moved to explore Jane's body, she tugged at Jane's turtle neck and slipped her hand to feel the hot stimulated skin underneath.

Their mouths met again, and Dana passionately kissed Jane, exploring inside her mouth with her tongue while letting her hands float up and down Janie's back. She could feel the contours of Janie's body against hers, and her need was growing.

"Dana, I want to make love to you." Janie whispered between kisses. "I want to feel your naked body against mine, I want to love you, to make you come, to give you pleasure."

Scully was near the brink with Janie's kisses, caresses and words. She so much wanted to make love to this woman, more than she wanted to even live. But still, something prevented her from saying yes.

At the same time it was the arousal within her body that prevented Dana from saying no.

She was at a crossroads.

Sweaty and disoriented, Dana allowed Jane to unbutton her blouse. She felt Jane's warm hands caress her naked stomach and find their way beneath her bra to massage her breasts. Jane pushed the bra up and placed her mouth over Scully's nipple. Scully arched her back in response and let out a small cry. She was becoming wet between her legs, and ached for Jane to relieve the mounting tension there. As if on cue, Jane slipped her leg between Dana's and gently applied pressure to Dana's throbbing clit.

"Oh, God."

They continued to kiss and explore and gently sway together. Dana was lost in the passion of the moment, and wouldn't have even been able to remember her name if she were asked. Jane encircled Dana's breasts with her tongue and very slowly and softly stroked her stomach and thighs, inching her way to Dana's dripping cunt.

"Oh, Kate, you are still so beautiful, you are so hot. Let me make love to you. Let me show you the color of midnight."

Dana froze.

Something inside of her snapped and she grew rigid.

Jane looked up, startled at the response in her lover. "Dana?"

Scully sat up and pulled her bra down and her blouse closed. She began to tremble, but didn't know why. All she knew was she couldn't do this. She couldn't allow herself to do this again. It hurt her too much.

"Jane, I'm sorry, I·I don't know what to say, I can't do this, please, I·Oh God." She could feel the tears well up.

"Dana, no, don't stop, don't be afraid. Let me love you like I know you love me."

"No" Scully said as she stood up. "Janie, I think you should go now. I need to be alone, I need to think." Scully rubbed her temples as the tears flowed down her face.

Jane stood up and went to Scully. "Honey, please, let me help you. I know we can get past this. We can be together. Whatever it is, we can figure it out." Jane reached to wipe away her tears, but Scully moved away and swiftly headed for the door.

"Please, Jane, just go. I will call you tomorrow." Scully promised, unable to look her friend in the eye.

Jane's shoulders slumped and she walked through the door, she let her fingers brush the back of Dana's hand as she passed her.

"I'm sorry." Scully said, staring at the floor.

"Me too." Jane replied

Outside, walking down the sidewalk from Scully's building, Jane couldn't believe what had just happened. She was so sure that if Dana could just remember how much they loved each other that she wouldn't have any trouble picking up where they had left off. What could have happened that Dana was so afraid of her? What kind of relationship did she get into, or out of, which had made her swear off love? Why did she freeze up all of a sudden? Jane was committed to finding out what was going on. She needed Dana too much to just give up. Jane came to DC for two reasons, and one of them was the woman on the other side of the door that she had just exited. Jane was determined to get what she wanted, even if that meant having more patience than Job.

Janie decided to forgo the cab ride home and instead walked, it was only a little under a mile away and the exercise would help relieve some of the residual tension she was feeling after her encounter with agent Scully. She turned the corner and mulled the evening's events over in her mind.

Jane was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the dark figure that emerged from the bushes below Scully's window, and was now following her home.

End Chapter four

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE

*Saturday, 2:37 a.m., Scully's bedroom*

Scully tossed and turned in bed, trying to figure out the events of that evening. She was so embarrassed. Not because she'd almost made love to Jane, but because she was unable to do so. Her entire body had been begging to be pleasured, her soul had once again found the mate for which it had never stopped longing, yet her mind wouldn't allow the other two to find their gratification. In her dreams images came to her, images of Jane making love to her. Images of a happier time. But also images full of fear, of shame, of guilt.

The phone rang and startled Scully out of her fitful sleep. She glanced at the clock and groaned.

"Scully!"

"Scully, it's me."

"What is it Mulder?" Scully asked as she pulled herself up to a sitting position and turned on the bedside lamp.

"Get dressed and meet me at the office."

"What?" Scully asked, annoyed

"I'll explain when you get here, I don't want to say too much over the phone."

"Do you mean to tell me that you've been there all night?" Scully implored, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands, the phone resting in the crook of her neck.

"Scully, will you just get here? I promise, this is worth it."

"Fine Mulder, I'm on my way," Scully said and immediately wondered why she always consented to his crazy demands. 'At least it's a diversion from my dreams' Scully thought as she hung up the phone and headed for the bathroom.

*Saturday, 3:30 a.m., FBI Hoover building*

Scully walked through the doors to their office and found Mulder hunched over his computer.

"What was so urgent that it couldn't wait at least until morning?" She asked.

Mulder pointed to a file on his desk. "This."

Scully stepped behind her partner and glanced at a photograph resting on top of the file. "What am I looking at Mulder?"

He pointed to a picture of two men standing outside of a cheap motel, "That·" he tapped one of the figures in the photo, "·is Krycek. This other man is a John Doe."

Scully stared at the photograph, she could just make out Krycek's profile but she still wasn't sure why she was looking at it.

"Now can you tell me *why* I am looking at this, Mulder?"

He looked back at Scully. "Because now John Doe is dead."

Scully pulled up a chair next to her partner while he sifted through the photographs. He found the one he was looking for and placed it on top of the pile. It was a picture of the dead man.

"Jesus Christ, Mulder·His skin." Scully gasped as she picked up the picture for a better look. The man's skin appeared to be shedding off of him like a snake.

"Yeah. It's not pretty."

"What the hell happened to him, Mulder?"

"That's what you're gonna find out. I had the body sent over for an autopsy."

"How did you find out about this?" she inquired, holding up the photograph, "And what does it have to do with Krycek? Or us?"

"I'm pretty sure that Krycek murdered him. For what reason I don't know. How, I don't know. But I do know that he lured that man into that motel room·" nodding at the photo, "·and then four hours later the body was found in the bathroom."

"Is this Frohike's work?" Scully asked as she returned the photograph to the file.

Mulder nodded, "They'd been following him all night. He stopped at a McDonalds in Adams Morgan and came out with this John Doe. Frohike and Langley followed them to the motel in Richmond. Krycek presumably paid for the room in the lobby and then took the guy inside. Krycek came out about an hour later. Langely followed him to his apartment, and then went to develop the pictures he'd taken up to that point. Frohike stayed at the motel and when he got tired of waiting, decided to go in and take a peek. That's when he found the body. He called me and I went in with the forensics team. I kept it kind of low key. I didn't want Hersh to find out I was involved. Especially if this leads back to us and Krycek somehow."

"Why didn't you call me, Mulder?"

"I did."

"No, sooner. Why didn't you call me sooner? I could have gone out to Richmond with you."

Mulder didn't want to tell Scully his suspicions. He didn't want to show her the other photograph's Langley had given him. So he just shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn't think it was necessary. Until I saw the body."

Scully looked at Mulder through the corner of her eye. 'What isn't he telling me?' she thought.

"Okay, well, I'll do the autopsy now since I'm up. I'd like to get a good look at this guy." She stood up and headed for the door. "Oh" she turned back to Mulder, "What did forensics find, anything?"

Mulder shook his head. "Zip."

Scully nodded. "I'll let you know what I find."

*Saturday, 7:22 a.m. - Terry's Diner, Dupont Circle*

Scully was sitting in the far booth with a file folder in front of her when Mulder entered and glanced around the greasy diner. She raised her hand and he swiftly walked towards the booth and slid into the opposite seat.

"Well?" He asked, his eyebrows raised.

She leaned forward and whispered. "Mulder, whatever toxin entered that man, it ate through his body incredibly fast." She glanced around to be sure no one was listening to them. "The shedding we saw in his skin was due to the almost complete extraction of natural oils found in human skin and hair."

The waitress came over and set a steaming mug of coffee in front of the redheaded FBI agent and then looked to Mulder for his order.

"I'll have the same," he stated, jerking his head towards Scully.

When the waitress was out of earshot Mulder leaned forward and placed his elbows on top of the table.

"Extraction?" he whispered.

Scully nodded as she blew on her coffee, which made the steam rising from the mug move sideways. She took a sip, grimacing as it burned her tongue.

"How?"

Setting the mug down, "I couldn't even begin to guess. Not without further tests."

They both leaned back in their seats as the waitress brought Mulder's coffee to the table.

"Anything else?" the bored waitress asked, already totaling up their check with an obviously chewed on pencil.

"No." Scully replied.

The waitress set the check face down on the table and ambled away towards her next customer.

"I'm waiting for the tox screen, but I doubt I'll find anything identifiable. Mulder, I've never seen anything like this before," she pushed the folder towards him, "and I doubt anyone else has either."

"Well someone's seen it Scully. Just not anyone who wants us to know what it is." He flipped through the medical file and skimmed through Scully's notes while sipping his coffee.

He closed the file and pushed it across the table back towards Scully. Then he sat silently for awhile, lost in thought.

"What else is going on Mulder? Why do I get the feeling that I'm not being told everything?" Scully asked, looking narrowly at him and slightly annoyed.

Mulder thought about it and then decided not to say anything. He had to be sure before he confronted Scully with the pictures. Besides, it could be nothing.

"There's nothing else, Scully, I'm just wondering how Skinner knew all of this, and what it has to do with us." Mulder stated, convincing himself it was the truth.

"Fine. " Scully said, grabbing the folder and gulping the rest of her coffee, "don't tell me." She got up, reached into her jeans pocket, and tossed two dollars on the table. "I'm going to check on ordering some more tests."

When Scully was gone Mulder pulled out the photo from his inside coat pocket. He stared at the image of Jane handing Krycek a package in the basement of the parking garage next to the FBI building. It was taken around 7:30 p.m., just before Krycek picked up John Doe at McDonalds. Mulder wanted to know what was in that package·and exactly why Jane Whitlaw had suddenly shown up in his partner's life at the exact time that Krycek dared make his rat bastard appearance.

End Chapter Five

* * *

CHAPTER SIX

*Saturday, 4:56 p.m., Scully's Apartment*

*She is on me, on top of me. Her full body stretched across mine. I can feel her pubic hair tickle my thigh, her pelvis melds into my body. She is kissing my neck, shoulders, lips· She is coaxing me to explore her nakedness. I am happy, loved, aroused. She kisses me, her tongue moving deep into my mouth·*

Scully awoke from her dream with a start. The phone was ringing. She tossed the afghan aside and swung her legs from the sofa. Standing up, she sighed, her face flushed as she recalled the images in her dream. Images of Jane making love to her, of a time when she wasn't constantly looking over her shoulder, a time when she was not mired in the depth of intrigue and deception.

"Hello?" Her voice was gravelly from sleep. She glanced at her watch and then rubbed her eyes. After leaving the FBI lab she had gone directly home to get some shuteye. That was four hours ago, and Scully was surprised she had slept for so long.

"Hi·Dana? Are you okay? Did I catch you at a bad time?" It was Jane.

"Oh," Scully muttered, still feeling the effects of her erotic dream, "hi, no I'm fine."

"Were you asleep?"

"Yeah, Mulder had me at work all night so I've been napping. I'm glad you called though because I shouldn't have slept for so long." Scully walked with the phone back to the sofa and wrapped herself up in the afghan. "What's up?"

"Well, I wanted to apologize for last night. I'm afraid I may have pushed you when I promised I wouldn't."

"No, Janie, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I've been thinking about what happened·and why it happened," Scully paused, "I don't know if I'm ready to really deal with it yet, Jane."

"That's okay, look, can I at least see you tonight? To talk about it?"

Scully sighed, "I don't know."

"Kate, I just·I just want a chance. Can't we at least have dinner? We can go to a restaurant so there's little chance for, um, for any physical stuff."

Pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay, let's meet at The Front Page. Seven thirty?"

"Good, perfect, I'll see you there."

Scully hung up the phone and stared out the window. She knew what was wrong. She knew why she had frozen up last night, but she wasn't sure she could handle sharing that with Janie. She had committed herself long ago to forgetting about it, especially forgetting the feelings because they produced such shame. But God dammit, she was an adult now, she didn't need to feel that shame. It wasn't hers. It was·.

Tears started flowing down Scully's face as she tried to fight them back. She hated feeling this way.

If only it hadn't been for that fucking movie.

*Saturday, 6:30 p.m., Mulder's Apartment*

Mulder popped another sunflower seed in his mouth and stared at the recent bunch of photographs that Langley had dropped off. These were clearer than the others, and it was now fairly obvious that Jane was somehow involved with Krycek. She had met with him this morning, this time outside the Secret Service office complex. They had a heated argument that Langely said he could not hear. But it was quite animated. Mulder didn't like this, and he felt he would need to tell Scully soon. But not yet, not until he could show her more proof, until he could be sure that this was the link that would ultimately spell their demise. He hoped he was wrong, he'd liked Jane. And it was obvious that Scully liked her too, that they'd been close once. He didn't want to take anything away from Scully, especially since the X Files had already cost her Melissa·and Emily.

*Saturday, 7:45 p.m., The Front Page*

Scully was running late, she had almost backed out, but decided it was time to confront this issue once and for all. She had allowed herself to bury all of the feelings she had for Jane, or any feelings she could have for anyone. Yet she carried around feelings that didn't even belong to her. It was time to put an end to that.

"Hi," Scully breathed, sitting down across from her raven-haired friend. Jane looked stunning in a simple white silk T-shirt, and a snug ankle length dusty blue skirt. Scully had chosen to wear her newest Evan Picone cream colored pantsuit, which she'd been told brought out the blue in her eyes. "Have you been here long?"

"No, about ten minutes. I hope you don't mind, I ordered you a glass of white wine."

"Sounds good," Scully replied, settling into her seat while she removed the napkin from her plate and spread it across her lap. She brushed her hair out of her face and looked at Jane. She smiled.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. In fact, I'm actually feeling better tonight than I have in a long time," Scully replied.

"Oh?"

The waiter came by with their drinks and took their food order. After a few minutes of silence, Scully looked at Jane and tilted her head. How could she have allowed herself to carry this guilt all these years?

"I've made a decision tonight," Scully declared, sipping her wine.

"Tell me," Jane asked, her eyebrows raised with curiosity.

"I don't want to close myself off to you, Jane. I don't want to run away."

Jane couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That's good." Not too fast, Jane didn't want to scare her off. "So, how do we start?"

"With the truth," Dana replied.

The two women talked about their lives. About their time together in college, about their classmates and families. Scully told Jane all about Mulder, about the X Files, about Samantha and Melissa·and Emily. They talked all through dinner and dessert and by the time the coffee arrived Scully was sure that she had made the right decision. Jane was the person of her dreams. The only other person on this world that she could trust, and love, besides Mulder. She wasn't going to let her father ruin this. Not this time.

"Tell me why you couldn't do this last night?" Jane asked.

Scully mulled over her answer before saying anything. "Because I have been hanging on to shame ever since we split up. I wasn't prepared to recognize this last night. You took me off guard. You brought up all kinds of conflicting emotions. I couldn't sift through them. Until you mentioned·"

"The Color of Midnight," Jane finished.

Scully nodded.

"And what about it?"

Scully had thought she was prepared for this, but as she felt the tears build up, she realized that she wasn't.

"That movie, Jane·" Scully choked.

Jane leaned across the table and placed her hand atop Dana's. "What happened, Kate?"

Scully shook her head. She didn't want to hold back, but she didn't want to make a public spectacle of herself either. "The film, I wasn't ashamed of making it. I, at the time I thought it was a kick. Of course now, I'd be kicked out of the FBI for it. But we made that when I thought I was going to be a doctor."

Jane simply nodded her head, not wanting to interrupt.

"I took it with me," Scully started. God this was hard, the memory of that day, the disappointment. Scully's face contorted as she tried to prevent herself from crying. She held tighter to Jane's hand. "My father·"

"Oh God." Jane gasped, placing her hand over her mouth.

"Yeah, he saw it. I stayed with my parents for a week before I had to leave for Med school. I don't know·" Scully stopped, this was not easy, "I don't know how he found it."

"Dana," Jane whispered.

"But he did," Scully wiped a tear from her face "And he told me that it was the most disgusting, disappointing thing he'd ever seen."

"Oh, God, Dana I'm so sorry."

"He told me that if I ever saw you again, not only would he withdraw his support of my education, but I would be banned from his home." Scully took a deep breath and looked squarely at Jane. "You have to understand that I worshiped my father."

"I know you did, honey," Jane reassured.

"Leaving you was so hard," Scully choked, "but I didn't think I had a choice at the time. If you could have seen the look on his face," Scully cringed at the memory, "I internalized all of that Jane, I convinced myself that he was right. And I allowed myself to accept his shame as my own." Scully drank her coffee, her thoughts far away. The two women sat in silence for a few minutes.

"And what about now?" Jane asked, squeezing Scully's hand.

"I'm all grown up. I don't have to accept my fathers limitations on love," Scully declared.

"Then why the tears, why now?"

"Because I loved him, Jane," Scully whispered, "And now that he's gone, I will never know if he would have eventually been able to accept me as I am, because I chose to deny myself from experiencing the truth while he was still alive."

Jane took a deep breath. "Wow."

Scully let go of Jane's hand and used the napkin to wipe away the mascara that had pooled under her eyes. "Fucking liars, this is supposed to be waterproof."

They looked at each other and giggled.

"Let's get out of here," Jane suggested.

Jane paid for the dinner and left a healthy tip for the waiter, who'd had the good sense to pretty much leave them alone.

They walked out into the brisk night air. Scully slipped her hand into Jane's and smiled at her. She could still feel the pain that her father had given her, but it no longer held her captive, she knew that she would now be able to let it go. And she could now move forward with her life.

"Would you like to come over?" Scully asked, "for a nightcap?"

Jane looked sideways at her friend, "You sure?"

Scully nodded, "I'm sure."

End Chapter Six

* * *

CHAPTER SEVEN

*Sunday, 5:22 a.m., Scully's bedroom*

Scully stared at the ceiling. Could this be happening to her? Could this really good thing be happening? She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt truly happy. There were times with Mulder that she'd felt loved and, ironically, safe. But she had not experienced this kind of physical, emotional, even spiritual happiness since the day she'd left Jane at college. It was hard for her to consider that she was still capable of it.

But here was Jane, lying next to her in bed, their naked bodies tangled up underneath the sheets. Scully felt as though they were built for each other. Every curve, every angle of Jane's body seemed to perfectly correspond to her own. As though they were interlocking puzzle pieces. They lay like two spoons nestled in a drawer. Scully could feel Jane's even breathing on her neck, as her breasts rested against the FBI agent's back.

Scully turned to lie on her back, and glanced at Jane's beautiful sleeping face. "Can you be for real?" she whispered, "or is this a dream?"

"If it's a dream, then it's a pretty God-damn-good-one." Jane opened her eyes and faced her lover.

"Mmmmm, good morning," Scully crooned

"Hi," Jane replied, moving her left hand from beneath the cover to stroke Dana's face. "You are beautiful in the morning."

Scully leaned in for a kiss. "And you are beautiful all the time." She parted her lips and accepted Janie's mouth on hers. They met in a passionate and lingering kiss. Dana's tongue delved deep into her lover's mouth, her hands tenderly caressing Jane's back as she rolled on top of the young Secret Service officer.

"I want you to make love to me again, Kate," Janie whispered.

"Yes," Scully replied, kissing down Jane's neck to rest her lips on an already erect nipple. "I want that too."

Jane placed her hands on the back of Dana's head as Dana sucked and licked the officer's breasts. While flicking her tongue against one nipple, Dana placed the palm of her hand over the other. Then she moved down Jane's body, kissing her stomach, dipping her tongue into Jane's navel, then finally reaching the soft patch between Jane's legs.

"Yes, Dana, oh you feel so good," Janie moaned.

The phone rang.

"Shit," Scully spat.

"Can you ignore it?" Janie pleaded.

Scully straightened up and reached for the phone. "Unfortunately, no."

"Scully," She hissed into the phone, hoping whoever was on the other end *knew* they were disturbing her.

"Scully, it's me."

"What is it Mulder? I'm kind of busy," Scully stated, looking at Jane who was now propped up on one elbow and staring back at her.

"There's been another murder," Mulder informed her. "And what do you mean you're busy? It's 5:30 in the morning."

Scully ignored his question. "Where is the victim?"

"At the FBI lab, waiting for you."

"Alright, you can give me the details when I get there," Scully ordered, already getting out of bed and heading to the dresser for a pair of jeans and a sweater.

"I'll be here," Mulder confirmed and hung up.

"No·please do *not* tell me you have to go to work," Jane pleaded.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I'd like better than to stay here·" Scully crawled onto the bed and leaned over Jane. "·but I have to go, this case is important."

"Is it the one you were telling me about? The one that may get you back into the X Files?" Jane inquired.

"Yes," Scully answered, purposely leaving out the fact that Mulder and she may be in physical jeopardy as well.

"Okay, but can I stay here and wait for you?" Jane hoped.

Scully gently kissed Jane, lightly running her tongue over the officer's soft lips. "I'd like that."

Jane rolled onto her stomach and pulled the covers over her head. In a muffled voice she said, "I'll wait right here then."

Scully chuckled at Jane's response and then made her way to the bathroom to take a quick shower. 'God life is good' she thought. 'Now if we can just figure out what the hell that rat bastard Krycek is up to.'

*Sunday, 9:48 a.m., FBI Hoover building*

"It's the exact same toxin as we saw before, Mulder," Scully sighed. "And I have no way of identifying it. Not without raising red flags all over the place." Scully dropped her report on Mulder's desk and flopped down in the chair opposite.

"They are testing this," Mulder declared, holding a pencil in both hands and nibbling on the middle of it. "Whatever this drug or virus or whatever the hell it is, they are testing it to see how it works." Mulder put the pencil down and leaned forward. "We've seen this before, Scully."

"I've never seen this·"

"No, not the toxin, but this method of randomly infecting innocent citizens, in this case homeless fucking men, as if they didn't have enough problems already." Mulder shook his head. "We know who is behind this, Scully. The same people that infected you, that killed Melissa, we've dealt with these people before"

"Yes, but we have to prove it," Scully answered. "Skinner said that whatever happens to us will be done with the rubber stamp of the United States Government. That implies that we are most likely going to be set up," Scully paused, "which is how we lost the X Files in the first place, remember?"

Mulder remembered·and the truth was that at this point he knew more than what he was telling Scully. He'd already decided that Jane was the one that would set them up. That she would somehow get closer to them, and then put them in a position of complete compromise. Mulder wasn't ready to share what he knew and suspected with Scully yet; he needed to talk to Skinner first. "Well there's nothing we can do until they make their next move."

"Have Frohike and Langley uncovered anything more?" Scully asked, "and if we have proof to link Krycek to these murders, I think we should go after him."

"Scully we can't do that, not yet. Don't forget we aren't even supposed to be on this case, and Skinner sure the hell isn't going to back us up if we get caught with our asses hanging out there."

"Fine, but look, the next time Frohike and Langley see Krycek lure some homeless guy to a motel, tell them to call the police."

"I already did," Mulder replied.

Scully nodded. "I'm gonna go," she stated, standing up.

"Do you want to get some breakfast?" Mulder asked.

"Oh, thanks, but, ah, I'm having breakfast with Jane."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, in fact, I'd better go or I'll be late."

"Scully, have you seen Jane since Friday?" Mulder asked nonchalantly.

"Why?"

"Just wondering." He dropped it. "Have a good time, I'll call you if we get anything more."

Scully nodded and walked out the door. Mulder stared after her. "Shit." He picked up the phone and dialed Skinner's pager number. He needed to figure out who Jane was, and what she was doing. Before Scully and he got burned.

*Sunday, 7:12 p.m., Scully's apartment*

Scully and Jane had spent the rest of the day together. They'd eaten breakfast in bed, with each other being the main course. They took a walk through Georgetown, stopping at a romantic little cafe for lunch. And then headed back to Scully's apartment where they spent the rest of the afternoon between the sheets.

Scully snuggled closer to Jane, and took a deep breath. "I love the way you smell," she sighed.

Jane stirred; she was half asleep and not wanting to get up. "At the moment, I smell like you," she laughed.

"I think we smell like each other."

Jane sighed. "I don't want to go to work, Kate, I just want to stay here, in bed with you."

"So call in sick," Scully suggested.

"I wish I could, but my boss has some special project for me tonight, and if I don't show up I will never get off of dogwatch."

Scully kissed Jane's shoulder, "then I guess we'd better make the best use of our time before you go to work."

"I guess we'd better," Jane agreed, moving her leg to rest between Dana's while planting a kiss on her neck. Scully responded by gripping the sheets and bracing for the sensations that were building from her center.

They were both warm, hot actually, and breathless. They made love gently, taking their time, not wanting to face the eventuality that Jane would be out there working and Scully would be in bed, alone. In this space, reality was on hold and all that mattered was the impression of the other's body to her own. Skin on skin, breast to breast, hands clasped, lips touching, tongues searching, this was what all of those corny love poems and songs were about, this very feeling, this moment.

When they were consumed and exhausted and done with their lovemaking, they lay in each other's arms, both feeling silly and safe and cherished. Scully wished she could stop time, so that she would never have to leave this bed. Never have to deal with Krycek or Skinner or that fucking pompous ass A.D. Kersh.

But her reverie was shattered when Jane looked at the clock and declared, "I have to go, Dana"

Scully groaned.

"Why don't I come back tomorrow night, I'll even make dinner," Jane offered.

"Since when do you cook?"

"Oh, Kate, Kate, Kate·there are many things about me of which you do not yet know," Jane teased, arching her eyebrow and touching the tip of Scully's nose with her index finger.

"Hmmm, well, that definitely sounds tempting. Provided you don't end up poisoning me," Scully laughed.

"I promise, I'll leave the hemlock at home," Jane teased as she rolled out of bed and skipped to the bathroom.

Dana lay in bed, stretched out and clutching the pillow that a few seconds ago supported Jane's head. 'I'm not going to sleep at all tonight,' Dana thought. But within a few minutes she was fast asleep, snoring into the pillow that smelled of her lover.

Jane came out of the bathroom and saw Dana asleep. She quietly tiptoed to the bed and leaned over. Gently kissing her forehead, Janie whispered, "Goodnight, lover."

Scully stirred, "Goodnight."

*Monday, 10:29 a.m., FBI Hoover Building*

"A.D. Kersh wants to see us, now," Scully said, hanging up the phone.

"Now what, more cow manure to sift through?"

Scully shot Mulder a stern look and then headed for the Assistant Directors office. Mulder followed. They waited for five minutes outside of Kersh's office and were then called in.

"Please explain this to me." Kersh said, slamming a file down on the desk in front of the standing agents.

"Explain what sir?" Scully asked.

"Explain to me how it is that *your*," he pointed to Scully, "credit card was used to pay for two motel rooms in which two murders were committed.'

"What?!" Mulder exploded.

"Agent Scully? Can you explain this?"

Scully lifted the report from A.D. Kersh's desk and stared at it. "I don't know, obviously someone got a hold of my credit information and used it to book these rooms." Scully's jaw tightened.

"Also please explain to me why you did the autopsy on two homicide victims in a case that is not within the jurisdiction of the FBI?" Kersh barked.

"Sir·" Scully started.

"She did it because I asked her to," Mulder interrupted. "I received a phone call from an old informant, I couldn't reach agent Spender, but I knew he would want to investigate this crime, it resembles an old X File. I made a decision in the middle of the night, and Agent Scully was not aware that this was an unauthorized case," Mulder lied.

Kersh just stared at them.

"You will not go near this case, you will leave it up to the Virginia police. Turn over whatever information you have to them. And if I even catch you sniffing around this I will relieve you of your duty, is that understood?"

"Sir, I think this does now fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI, considering a Federal Agent's credit card was fraudulently used in the course of committing these murders," Mulder pointed out.

Scully could see the steam coming out of Kersh's ears.

"Perhaps, Agent Mulder. But it does not fall within *your* jurisdiction. Do you understand?"

"We do, sir." Scully answered.

"Agent Mulder?"

"I understand·" Mulder said through clenched teeth, "·more than you know," Mulder said and then turned on his heel and stormed out of the office.

Scully glanced at the Assistant Director and then followed her partner out of the office.

Back at their desks, Mulder sat fuming. "He knows something, Scully," Mulder pointed towards the door, "he's in on it."

Scully sank into her chair. "We don't know that, Mulder, and it will only get us in deeper if we start investigating him too."

"It's starting you know," Mulder said, looking at his partner "the set up has begun. Krycek is going to pin those murders, or something, on us."

"Well he can't do that, we have pictures, we have proof that he was the one that took those men to the hotel."

Mulder got up and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair.

"Where are you going?"

"Virginia, we need to talk to the motel manager. Get his statement to confirm that we were not the ones that booked that room. Get him to I.D. Krycek."

"Mulder," Scully started but then changed her mind. He was right, they needed proof to show that they were in fact being set up, and they needed it before anyone started making it mysteriously disappear. She locked her desk drawer and then followed her partner.

*Monday, 5:30 p.m., Scully's apartment*

Scully walked through the front door, carrying two handled shopping bags. She shut the door with her hip and crossed over into the bedroom. Mulder and Scully had received the information they wanted from the motel manager. He'd picked out Krycek from a series of photographs and confirmed that he had never seen either Mulder or Scully before. Even better, they had a copy of Krycek's signature in the check-in log. He'd tried to make it look like 'Fox Mulder', but he'd spelled Mulder wrong. Not to mention he still had not perfected writing with his left hand yet so the signature was nowhere near a match for Mulder's own John Hancock.

They'd driven back to DC feeling better about their predicament, confident that they were on top of Krycek and would soon figure out what he was up to. Mulder still seemed sullen, but Scully attributed that to the ass kicking they'd received from A.D. Kersh. Mulder hated that guy even more than Scully did.

Scully had left the office after wrapping up some unfinished background checks. She had spoken with Jane on the phone and arranged for her to arrive by eight. Scully wanted to prepare something special for her lover, something reminiscent of the old days. She had to stop at Macy's to get what she needed, and then made a side trip to Pottery Barn for some scented candles. Standing in line she almost made herself come just by thinking about the evening she had planned for Jane. Color of Midnight indeed, she'd show Janie that she hadn't forgotten·

She went into the bathroom to set up the candles.

End Chapter Seven

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHT

*Monday, 8:02 p.m., Scully's apartment*

"Scully?" Jane shouted into the empty living room. She withdrew the spare key Scully had given her from the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Someone, most likely her redheaded lover, had lit dozens of candles that now illuminated the room. No other lights were on, and Scully was nowhere to be seen. She took another tentative step into the room

"Scully?" She asked again

"Sit."

Jane spun around; she didn't see anyone, "What?" She nervously replied

"Sit, and don't talk. I have something for you."

Jane walked around to the couch

"Not there," The familiar voice demanded, "in the chair"

Jane still couldn't see where Scully was standing, but she did as she was told and moved to the comfortable overstuffed chair opposite the windows, a sly grin creeping across her face. "I'm ready," she declared. There was no response, and after a few minutes, Jane grew nervous again.

"Scully? Are you still there? What·"

She was cut off by the familiar music of Paula Cole's 'Feeling Love'. A slow, sexy beat reverberated in the room. The volume was turned up and then Jane saw a shadow sneak across the floor.

Followed by the shadow was Scully.

Jane held her breath.

'Oh God' she thought.

Scully was dressed in an oversized white silk blouse, with the top four buttons undone, exposing just enough cleavage to make Jane's heart skip a beat. Her eyes roamed down the blouse to the black leather mini skirt and black silk stockings, culminating in four inch black heels. Scully donned black sunglasses and was gyrating to the music.

"Oh, baby, you can't do this to me." Jane pleaded.

Scully put her finger to her lips, "Shhhhhhh," she continued to dance and gyrate across the room until she came to a stop in front of the raven haired beauty. Taking off her sunglasses, "I told you·I have something for you," Dana whispered, still swaying her hips to the music

She leaned over Jane, her face inches from the other woman's lips, exposing her milky white breasts.

"And you can't touch me·" Scully breathed, "·but I can touch you."

She teased an already tortured Jane by running her fingers lightly up the stunned woman's thigh, stopping just as she reached the under side of Jane's short skirt.

Dana moved back just as Jane reached out for her.

'Oh, sweet God in heaven, this is going to be torture' Jane thought, all the while maintaining a stupid grin on her face. She felt the customary tingling in her groin and slid her hand up her skirt.

"No," Scully ordered, moving Jane's hand, "that's my job." She lifted her left leg and placed one high-heeled foot in the space between Janie's legs. She continued swaying to the music, allowing the toe of her shoe to gently brush against the other woman's throbbing vulva. Jane responded by moving her hips in accordance with Scully's motion, a slow excruciating pace. She allowed her eyes to roam up the short skirt her lover was uncharacteristically modeling, to the garter that held the silk stockings.

The music blared:

"You make me feel like a sticky pistil, leaning into a stamen·"

Tossing her head back, her eyes closed, and her crimson hair lazily cavorting on her burrowed forehead, Scully placed one arm carelessly over the top of her head. Employing the other hand, she began toying with the top clasped button of her silk blouse, never ending the swaying and grinding with the steady beat of the music.

"·you make me feel like the Amazon's runnin' between my thighs·"

Scully's scent was intoxicating and the effects of the candles and music were almost too much on Jane's over-stimulated senses.

"·you make me feel like a candy apple, red and horny·"

Scully knew the effect she was having on her excited lover, and the thought of this thrilled her. She'd never felt as erotic as she did at that moment, and she didn't want it to end.

"·and I would open the door and I'd be all wet, with my tits soaking through this tiny little t-shirt that I'm wearing·"

She fumbled with the button some more, and then slipped it through the companion opening. She slowly did this with the remaining buttons, using both hands to gently expose the nakedness beneath. Scully enjoyed Jane's sharp intake of breath as she pushed even harder against the writhing woman's clitoris, and then suddenly pulled her foot away and set it on the hard wood floor.

"·and you would open the door and tie me up to the bed·"

Scully leaned over, her legs spread apart, arms stiffly leaning on each arm of the chair, her blouse falling open and her glistening skin laid bare to her lover. Her face inches from Jane's, Scully delicately brushed her lips against the ruby mouth that was eagerly awaiting gratification. Their tongues danced to the beat of the music.

"·you make me feel loved, loved, loved, loved, loved·"

Jane couldn't stand it anymore and reached up to put her hand behind Scully's neck. Scully immediately pulled back and wagged her finger at the young officer.

"·lover I don't know who I am·"

Scully closed her eyes and got lost in the music. She stepped back, turned around and moved her hips from side to side, combing her fingers through her thick red tresses. Jane watched, breathless as Scully seduced her with this tantalizing dance.

"·oh baby babe babe babe. Lover I'm laced with your unconscious. I will be your Desdemona, take your time·"

Before Janie could get out of the chair, Dana sashayed back to her in time with the beating music. With her eyes closed, Scully used her hands to investigate her own quivering body. She ran her hands over her hips, stomach, between her swollen breasts, to her throat, through her thick mane of red hair, back down her throat, and finally to her aching nipples. She circled first the left and then the right, all in time to the music that was still filling the room, and both women's senses.

"·you make me feel loved, loved, loved, loved, loved·"

Jane was being driven to near madness. She wiggled in her seat while watching her seductive partner dance in front of her. Unable to control herself any longer, Janie leaned back in the chair and slipped her hand between her own trembling legs. But Scully caught Jane's self-pleasuring and greedily jerked her lover's hand away.

With one fluid movement Scully dropped to her knees in front of the officer. She reached up, under Jane's tight fitting skirt, and pulled down the other woman's stockings and then panties.

"·you make me feel loved, loved, loved, loved, loved·"

Jane pulled the heavy sweater over her head, and slipped out of the T-shirt she wore underneath, revealing her small but firm breasts.

"·loved, loved, loved, loved, loved·"

Scully yanked at her lover's legs, pulling her forward until her dripping cunt was level with the edge of the chair. Dana grabbed each of her partner's legs and spread them wide. She then dipped her head and probed with her tongue, flicking it over the already hard clit, which evoked a wail from the black haired woman.

"·you make me feel loved, loved, loved, loved, loved·"

Jane leaned back, placing her hands on the back of the chair. Scully circled Jane's aching clit with her tongue while her finger slipped in and out of the sopping chasm. Jane's head, heavy with pleasure, rolled around on her shoulders while she sighed and moaned.

Dana continued lapping, licking and sucking in rhythm to the music that was still pouring from the twin speakers across the room.

"·loved, loved, loved, loved, loved·"

As her orgasm grew, Jane threw back her head and screamed with ecstasy, every synapse of her body exploded with excitement. She pumped her hips while clutching Scully's head. Jane screamed out her lover's name with every wave of pleasure.

"Dana! Dana! Oh, fuck·. Oh, God, Dana!"

Small explosions, building to even larger ones, "Yes! Oh-my-God, Yes!"

Dana kept pumping until she could feel the surges pass. Jane slumped in her chair, panting, while Dana stood up over her.

"Did you like that lover?" Scully whispered, "Do you want more?"

All Janie could do was nod her head.

Scully resumed her slow tease. The music, set to repeat, still played in the background.

"·you make me feel like splendor in the grass while we're rollin'·"

Scully slipped the silk blouse from her shoulders and let it drop to the floor, then hungrily grabbed both of her breasts while performing a slow gyration to the music.

Jane remained transfixed, feeling spent, but recognizing that what she thought was her satiated sex was beginning to stir again.

Scully reached around to the small of her back to unzip her leather skirt and slowly inch it towards the floor. She bent over, lifting one heeled foot and then the other to pull the skirt from her ankles. Straightening up, she twirled the skirt with one finger over her head and then tossed it to her flushed lover. Jane caught it with her left hand and gave it a sniff.

'mmmmm, I love your smell,' Jane thought as she quietly slipped her hand between her legs.

Scully danced in front of Jane, fully naked except for the garter, stockings and high heels. With her left arm wrapped around her own waist, Scully placed the finger of her right hand to fondle her pulsating clitoris. She circled the hard clit then inserted her middle finger into her waiting vagina. As she had done for Jane, she now pumped in and out.

"·you make me feel loved, loved, loved, loved, loved·"

When she felt she was nearing climax, Scully lazily opened her eyes to see her squirming lover pleasuring herself. She removed her finger and placed it to Janie's mouth. The other woman suckled zealously, savoring each drop of the delicious secretions.

Finally, Scully grabbed Jane's head with both hands and gently pulled towards her climaxing vulva. Jane looked into Dana's eyes, and saw the permission she was dying for. The young officer lovingly rubbed her hands up Dana's stomach reaching her full breasts. She cupped them, seized them, and circled the erect nipples between her thumbs and forefingers. Then Janie dived in, Dana tasted so sweet, so ready.

"Oh·God·fuck·me!" Scully groaned. She undulated faster and faster as Jane used her tongue to explore the engorged clit.

"Yes!·Yes! Oh, I'm going to come·.don't stop!"

Every nerve in Dana's body was on red alert, coming together for this climacteric occasion. Her legs were turning to rubber and she could barely stand. The FBI agent held her breath, building, building, and her entire body attentive to the pleasure that was at her center.

Janie captured Scully's ass with both hands while continuing to suck and nip at the quivering agent's cunt.

Scully could feel herself coming "Oh, Jesus, Mary and Joseph·..Oh, Janie, Oh, I'm c-o-m-i-n-g!" She erupted with a guttural release as her entire body was racked with the orgasm that overtook her. Jane lapped up the excreting juices until Dana was dry, and then pulled her fiery-headed lover to her lap. Scully gratefully flopped down and buried her face in Janie's neck, still panting from her exertions.

"That," Jane said, lifting Scully's head to stare into her sky blue eyes, "was the best present anyone has ever given me." She joined her mouth to her lover's. Their lips met and their tongues roamed, each occasionally veering away to kiss a cheek, nibble an ear, or lick a throat.

"We're not done yet," Scully promised, nibbling on Janie's ear. "There's one more thing to do." She removed herself from Jane's lap and reached for her young lover's hand, leading her from the candle lit room. She shut off the CD player on their way out.

In the bathroom, Scully lit the many candles she had carefully placed around the room earlier. Jane ran the bath, adding bubbles and oil to the water. When she had finished lighting the scented candles, Scully sat on the edge of the tub and lifted her leg for Jane to remove her shoes and stockings.

Jane slipped the shoes off and tossed them in the corner, then unclasped the garter and rolled the stockings seductively down Dana's legs, first the right and then the left, never taking her eyes from the icy blue eyes staring back at her.

She held Scully's hands and lifted her to her feet, removing the garter belt from around the redhead's waist. She replaced the garter with her arms and pulled Dana close, Scully responded by wrapping her arms around Jane's waist and they shared a long lingering kiss, their bodies pressed against each other, breasts to breasts, legs entwined, both could feel the growing hardness of the other's clit.

Finally, they parted and slid into the tub, Scully leaned against the back of the bath and Jane slipped into her arms. The two women embraced, and enjoyed a slow tenacious kiss before Jane turned and leaned her back against the FBI agent's breasts, allowing herself to be enveloped by the strong silky arms of her lover.

This was heaven, pure bliss, and Jane couldn't even remember what her life was like before reuniting with the beautiful Dana Scully.

"I love you," Dana professed as she rested her head against her beautiful lover's cheek. She had always been afraid of what those words meant. But with Jane, it wasn't hard; in fact, it was easy to love her. And Dana knew that she had always loved her.

"Oh God, and I love you too," Jane replied and turned to accept another passionate kiss.

'Life should always be like this' Dana thought.

*Monday, 8:51 p.m., Outside Scully's apartment building*

Mulder sat in his car, still reeling from what he had just witnessed. Who was in Scully's apartment with her? And why didn't he know that she was even seeing someone?

Mulder had decided to talk to Scully about Jane. The recent batch of photos confirmed for a third time that Jane was working with Krycek, and both Mulder and Skinner decided she had to know. However, as he had walked up the front steps to Scully's building, he'd noticed through her windows that the lights were off, but the room was candle lit. He'd pressed his face closer to the window and heard the music. Then he saw her. Scully's back was to him, but she was clearly dancing for someone that was sitting in the chair before her, he could see the shadow of someone in the chair, but he just couldn't make out who it was. He'd watched her slip off the silky white shirt and saw her naked back. It looked as though she were fondling her breasts, and as she reached around for the zipper of her skirt he'd turned away, feeling somewhat ashamed at his voyeurism.

He'd returned to his car, where he now sat, and decided he would wait for whoever it was in Scully's apartment to leave before disturbing her. He just hoped that this evening wouldn't turn out to be a slumber party.

Before long Mulder started yawning, and unable to keep his eyes open, he fell asleep.

*Monday, 10:11 p.m., Scully's apartment.*

Scully and Jane were in bed, fast asleep after another round of lovemaking. They were naked, in each other's arms and oblivious to the outside world. That is, until there was a pounding at the door.

Scully got out of bed without disturbing Jane's sleep. She pulled on a robe and walked out to the living room. After peeking through the hole in the door she opened it.

"Sir? Is something wrong? Is Mulder okay?"

"No, Mulder's fine," Skinner stated somewhat puzzled, "didn't he talk to you yet?" he asked, stepping into the room.

"No, I haven't heard from him all night," Scully replied closing the door and then turning to face Skinner. She folded her arms in front of her, suddenly self-conscious.

Skinner scowled and rubbed his chin. "He was supposed to contact you·about the case."

"What about it?" Scully asked.

Skinner thought for a moment, "Evidently, someone you know is working with Krycek."

"Someone I know personally?" Scully asked.

"Yes, Mulder said it was a friend of yours from college, I guess she recently moved here?"

Dana's stomach lurched.

"Is this ringing any bells?" Skinner asked, unaware of the fact that Scully had stopped breathing.

"Did he say what her name was?"

"Jane Whitlaw."

Scully reached out to brace herself against the wall. "He must be mistaken," Scully stated

"He has pictures, Scully," Skinner explained, "of the two of them together, in one of them she is handing him a package in an underground garage. Only a few hours later the first murder occurred."

Scully was barely hearing his words as he continued to explain the mountain of evidence against her lover. Her heart was pounding like a drum inside of her chest. She didn't know what to believe.

"Agent Scully?" Skinner asked, concerned.

"What? I'm sorry," Dana replied combing her fingers through her hair.

"I said are you okay? You kind of spaced out on me there for a minute."

"No, no, I, ah, I heard you, Sir." Scully replied, "I'm fine." She needed to speak with Mulder·now. "Thank you for telling me," she said opening the door for him to leave.

"I'm sorry, Scully. Mulder said that you and this Jane were pretty close once."

"Yes, yes we were," Scully replied, desperate to get him out of the apartment before Jane woke up and suspected something. "That was a long time ago."

Skinner stepped out of the door and Scully closed it before he could see the build up of tears in her eyes. This just couldn't be true, and she had to get to Mulder to find out. She tiptoed into the bedroom. Afraid to wake Jane, she carefully pulled out a pair of Khaki's and a white T-shirt from the closet and went to the bathroom to change. Jane had not woken up, or had at least not given any indication to Scully that she was awake.

*Monday, 10:21 p.m., Outside Scully's apartment*

Mulder jerked awake. He glanced at his watch and discovered that he'd been asleep for quite some time. "Shit," he muttered.

He was about to get out of the car to take a peek and see if Scully was home alone or was still with her mystery lover, when the front door to her building opened.

Skinner stepped out.

"Huh?" he muttered, "Skinner? She's fucking Skinner?" He couldn't believe it, he didn't want to believe it, but there Skinner was, as plain as day, leaving Scully's apartment.

"God dammit," Mulder spat. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. Hurt? Anger? Betrayal? All he knew was he had to get out of there. He started the engine and pulled away from the curb, careful not to draw Skinner's attention.

"She's fucking *Skinner*!" He slammed the steering wheel and let out a slow breath. He didn't know what to do with this. If she and Skinner were lovers, then why didn't she tell him? He refused to believe that Scully would betray him, that she would compromise herself for anyone, so he had to believe that she had her reasons for keeping silent about this·but still, it's *Skinner*. He couldn't help but feel betrayed.

"Why him?" Mulder said aloud, and then drove the rest of the way home in stunned silence.

End Chapter Eight.

* * *

CHAPTER NINE

*Monday, 10:52 p.m., Scully's car*

She had to get to Mulder. She had to clear this up. There was just no way Jane could have deceived her like that. Scully was not easily fooled, and if Skinner was right, then she had really lost her touch.

Scully pulled up in front of Mulder's building and looked up at his window. The light was on. Good, that meant she wouldn't have to wake him up.

She turned off the car and pulled the keys out of the ignition. She just sat there, suddenly feeling as though she could not handle this. If it turned out to be true·

Scully leaned her hands on the steering wheel and put her head down. She did not want to do this. She did not want the answers that were waiting for her in Mulder's apartment.

*Monday, 10:59 p.m., Mulder's Apartment*

He was still reeling. First seeing Scully in such an uncharacteristic fashion, and then realizing that she'd been boinking the boss. It was too much.

And still there was Jane; he had yet to tell her about Jane.

Mulder put a video in the VCR, shut off the overhead light and flopped down on the sofa. Trying to get comfortable, he put one arm behind his head and the other on the waistband of his jeans. He wasn't in the mood though; the images blinking on the screen only reminded him of Scully and Skinner. He grabbed the remote and shut off the TV, plunging the room into complete darkness. He lay there, in the dark; feeling really pissed off that this was bugging him so much.

He was yanked from his thoughts by a quick rapping at the door. He stood up and walked to the front foyer, flipping on the light switch as he did so. After looking through the peephole he wasn't sure if he was relieved or irritated.

>From outside the door, "Mulder, it's me."

He opened the door but made no move to let her in.

"Mulder," Scully was startled by the look on his face. "Mulder, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know, Scully, why don't you tell me?"

He was upset about something, that much she could tell. "Can I come in?"

Mulder stepped aside and gestured for her to enter. She walked past him and into the living room, taking off her trench coat and tossing it on the sofa. She turned to face him.

"What's up Scully? Why are you here?" Mulder asked, leaning against the archway between the living room and dining area.

Scully sat on the sofa, her head in her hands. "I need you to tell me something," she stated.

"What."

Scully took a deep breath, "A.D. Skinner·"

"So formal, Scully," Mulder interrupted, "A.D. Skinner," he mimicked.

"Mulder, what the hell is wrong with you?" Scully asked, looking up and noticing that he had not moved from his spot.

Mulder thought for a minute, and then decided not to say what he'd been thinking. He walked to the chair opposite the sofa and sat down. He nodded to Scully, "What about A.D. Skinner?"

"He came by my apartment tonight," Scully started.

"I'll bet he came," Mulder snorted.

Scully stopped and looked up at her partner. He had a pained and really pissed off look on his face.

"Mulder, do you want to tell me what is wrong?" Scully requested, "It's obvious you have a problem with something."

Mulder hesitated before answering. He let out a long breath, "yeah, I do have a problem, Scully," he stood up and paced the floor. "I have a problem with you not being honest with me."

"What are you talking about?" Scully asked, spreading her hands in a gesture of wonder.

"I'm talking about this," Mulder said and then walked over to the stereo, picked out a CD and put it in the CD changer.

Paula Cole filled the room.

"You make me feel like a sticky pistol, leaning into a stamen."

Scully stopped breathing.

Mulder just stared at her.

Scully was not at all prepared for this. She wanted to tell Mulder about her relationship with Jane on her own time. Now, somehow, he knew. Her initial reaction of embarrassment was replaced with anger.

"Mulder, what is this? What, now you're spying on me too?" she accused.

"It was an accident, Scully," Mulder stated, shutting off the stereo and returning to his seat across from his angry redheaded partner.

"How is spying on me an accident?" Scully asked, flabbergasted.

"I wasn't spying on you," he started, "I came by to talk to you, I noticed the dim lighting and heard the music," he looked down at his hands, "I looked in the window·"

Scully suddenly stood up "I need some water," She declared and then walked into the kitchen.

When she came back out, Mulder was still sitting in the chair staring into his hands.

Scully sat down on the coffee table and faced Mulder; her elbows on her knees she leaned towards him. She knew now why he was so angry. He knew that she was sleeping with Jane, and he suspected that Jane was a traitor, but she would prove him wrong.

"Mulder, I had planned to tell you·"

"How long has it been going on, Scully?" he asked, not even hiding the pain in his voice.

"It began a long time ago," she answered.

"How long ago?" Mulder demanded.

"What does it matter?" she snapped.

"It matters to me, Scully. If you've been carrying on behind my back, when we didn't even know what side he was on," he shook his head, "how could I not have noticed?"

"You've lost me," Scully stated, taking a sip of water.

"If you've been fucking Skinner·"

Scully gagged on her water and it sprayed out of her mouth and all over Mulder. He didn't have time to duck and found his neck and t-shirt soaked.

Between coughs she choked, "What?!"

"Skinner, Scully, I know you were with Skinner tonight," he stated, wiping off the water with the back of his hand.

"Where the hell did you get that idea?" Scully asked, almost laughing at the thought.

"I saw him, Scully."

"Saw him where?" she asked

"Tonight, at your apartment. I walked up and saw you through the window, you were doing quite the impressive striptease,"

Scully looked mortified.

"Don't worry, I didn't see anything important," Mulder assured her, "but I did see Skinner," he declared.

"Mulder, you did not see Skinner." Scully stated as she put the glass on the table and crossed her arms.

Mulder just looked at his partner, he couldn't believe she was lying like this. "Scully, I sat in my car and watched Skinner come out of your building."

Scully finally realized what was happening. "Yes, you could have seen that. And why were you sitting outside of my apartment in the first place?"

He opened his mouth to answer

"Never mind, I don't want to know," Scully said, "Skinner came over to ask me if I'd seen you, and to tell me something. He was there for about fifteen minutes."

"Then who·" Mulder started,

"Mulder, don't ask unless you really want to know."

Mulder looked at his partner and for the first time saw the pain and fear in her eyes. He stood up and walked over to the window. He stood there for a few minutes, silently, trying to figure out what to say. He turned back to face Dana.

"I'm sorry," he offered as he crossed the room and sat back down in the chair across from her. Looking into her eyes, "do you want me to know, Scully?"

Scully looked down at the floor and noticed for the first time that she had accidentally put on one beige sock and one white one. At any other time that would have struck her as rather funny. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Not looking up she muttered, "I think so."

Mulder sat silently, waiting for her to speak. He really wasn't sure he wanted to hear it anyway.

Scully looked up at her partner. iIt's now or never' she thought. Straightening up she said, "Jane."

Mulder looked confused.

"I wasn't dancing for Skinner, Mulder," she paused, "I was dancing for Jane."

Mulder leaned back and cupped his mouth with the palm of his hand. "Oh God, Scully, I'm sorry·"

"What for?" she asked.

"Jane," He started, not wanting to have to tell her this, "she's working with Krycek."

Scully was surprised, "We'll talk about that in a minute. Don't you have anything to say about my·" she searched for the word, "·relationship?"

"Other than the fact that you have one, I don't know what else to say," Mulder shrugged.

"Well, I've basically told you that I'm a lesbian," Scully stated, "you have nothing to say about that?"

Mulder thought for a minute, "Should I?" he paused, "I mean, I'd never really considered your sexuality in any kind of context. You've never dated that I am aware of, I just figured you were as asexual as I am."

Scully shook her head, "I was, but then Jane came back into my life." Scully stood up and walked over to the sofa and sat down. "She reminded me of what my life could be."

"Scully," Mulder started.

"No," she interrupted, "I don't believe that she is working with Krycek. She wouldn't do that to me, we go back too far."

Mulder walked over to the desk and took out a thick folder from the middle drawer. He returned and sat down next to Scully on the sofa. Opening the folder, "Langley took these photographs on the same day that Skinner first told us about Krycek," he paused, pointing at the picture, "as you can see, Jane is handing him a package."

"This doesn't mean anything, she works for the Secret Service, this could be anything."

"Scully, we know that the toxin used to kill those men was in that package. Frohike recovered it from the motel. He took it before the authorities got there and we had it tested. It's not in the official police report, we didn't want to raise any red flags."

"That still doesn't mean anything, Mulder, Jane probably didn't even know what was in the package."

"That may be true, but she knew it was linked to you, and to the X-Files."

"How?" Scully asked defensively.

"Because your name is on the address label. She and Krycek were setting you up."

Scully just stared at the picture.

After a minute, "There's more," Mulder took out another photograph, "this is Krycek and Jane again, right before the second murder. As you can see, she's helping place the second victim in Krycek's car."

"Mulder, this doesn't prove that she *knew* what she was doing," Scully implored, "she could be getting set up just like you and I are."

"I don't think so, Scully, it's just a little too coincidental that she showed up in your life on the exact same day that Krycek did."

"Mulder, that·" suddenly Scully froze.

"What?" Mulder asked, concerned.

Scully reached into her trench coat pocket and pulled out her wallet. "My credit card," she started, and felt the tears well up as realization came over her.

She looked up at Mulder, "I left my credit card at the restaurant where Jane and I had lunch on Friday. I was in such a hurry to get back to work, I forgot about it."

Mulder looked through the file and pulled out the slip from the motel. He handed it to Scully.

"Oh,"

"Is it the same one?" Mulder asked, hoping that it wasn't.

Scully nodded.

She felt like something inside of her had just died.

Mulder placed his hand over his partner's. They sat in silence.

End Chapter Nine.

* * *

CHAPTER TEN

*11:58 p.m., Outside Scully's apartment*

They sat in the car; each lost in their own thoughts. She still unable to think clearly; he growing angrier by the minute. Mulder wondered who the hell Jane thought she was. He was furious that she had taken advantage of Scully, and had put both of their lives in jeopardy.

After Scully had accepted the possibility that Jane may have set her up, she'd told Mulder about their history together. She didn't mention the video, but talked about how her father had not approved, and that was part of why she'd been so gun shy when Jane had shown up in their office just a few short days ago. Had it really only been a few days? It was hard to believe that, given the emotional roller coaster ride she'd been on. She was normally so even-keeled. She wasn't sure she could take much more.

The fact that Scully had been in love with Jane for all of these years, but had been unable to express it, spoke volumes to Mulder about her lack of a social life. Mulder knew why *he* was unwilling to pair off, but he had often wondered what Scully's motivations were. Now that he knew, he was livid. The one time Scully had decided to take a risk she got burned. Mulder was determined to make Jane pay for that. He was going to make damn sure.

They finally looked at each other and Mulder reached for Scully's hand, squeezing it. "You ready?" he asked.

"I guess so," she replied.

They got out of the car and walked up to the apartment building together. Once inside, Scully took off her coat and hung it in the wardrobe.

"Is she still here?" Mulder asked, taking off his coat and tossing it in the chair by the window.

"I think so," Scully replied, not wanting to go to the bedroom to find out. "Her briefcase is still sitting on the table."

"How do you want to do this, Scully?" Mulder asked, crossing the room to stand in front of his partner. They were both just outside of the bedroom door.

"I don't know," Scully said, feeling the tears well up.

Mulder couldn't stand seeing Scully so vulnerable. Determined, he walked past her and opened the door that led to the bedroom. "I'll get her," he said.

Scully just nodded and turned back to the living room and sat on the sofa. She was going to let Mulder take the lead on this one. She didn't have the energy for it. She was surprised by her lack of anger, at least her lack of anger towards Jane. She was still in a state of shock and the only feeling that she *could* identify was profound sadness. And, in spite of the evidence, Scully was not ready to maintain that Jane could have done this.

He could see Jane's shape in the bed and walked around to her side until he was standing directly over her.

"Jane," He barked.

She didn't wake up.

"Jane!" he said again, more forcefully, "get up."

She stirred in the bed and rolled onto her back, she squinted her eyes at the figure standing before her.

"Agent Mulder?" Jane asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Get up, Jane, and meet me in the living room," Mulder ordered, already walking out of the room.

"What?" Janie croaked, her voice gravelly with sleep "Mulder, is something wrong?" She glanced over at Scully's side of the bed and realized Dana wasn't there, she started to panic. "Is Dana okay? What's going on?"

"That's what we need you to tell us," Mulder said, pausing at the door, "get dressed and come out here." The venom in his voice was unmistakable.

Jane waited for Mulder to close the door and then she got up and pulled on her skirt and sweater that were lying in a heap on the floor beside the bed. With a cursory glance in the mirror she walked to the bedroom door and opened it. Taking a deep breath she stepped into the hallway and into the living room. Scully was sitting on the sofa, her arms and legs crossed, her eyes fixated on the floor. Mulder was pacing back and forth behind her. When he saw Jane he stopped and placed his hand on Scully's shoulder.

"Take a seat Jane," he said.

She didn't like his tone, or the fact that Dana had not even looked at her. She crossed the room and sat in the chair opposite the sofa, the same chair she had been sitting in earlier that evening. That fact was not lost on either woman.

"Kate, what's·"

"Do not call me that," Scully stated, still staring at the floor. "Mulder and I have some questions for you," she looked directly into Jane's eyes, "and I need you to be honest with me."

Jane just nodded her head, not sure of what Agent Mulder had in store for her. She was growing more nervous by the minute.

Mulder placed the file he'd brought with them on the coffee table in front of Jane. He sat next to Scully and opened it. Placing each photograph in front of the stunned officer, he asked, "please explain this,"

Jane just stared at the photographs before her. She couldn't believe this and grew incensed with the realization of what was happening. She stood up, "I do not have to explain anything to you, Agent Mulder," she glanced at Scully who returned her look with a blank stare, "and I resent the hell out of this," she declared turning back to Mulder.

"You resent this," Mulder stated incredulously, "You resent this?" He stated again, louder. "You don't have a right to be resentful," he yelled at the officer as he stood up and pointed towards the seat she had vacated. "Now sit the hell down, and start explaining to us exactly when you decided to betray Agent Scully."

Jane felt like the wind had been knocked out of her and she sat down with a thump.

"How much is he paying you?" Mulder asked, his hands on his hips.

Jane looked back and forth between Mulder and Scully. Mulder's eyes were ice cold and filled with anger. Scully just looked sad. "Dana," she started.

"No!" Mulder yelled walking towards the officer, "I will not give you an opportunity to fuck with her mind," he declared, positioning himself between Jane and Scully, "now start telling me what I want to hear. How much is that rat bastard son of a bitch paying you?!" He stood over her, lowering his voice, " I hope it was a hell of a lot if you were willing to prostitute yourself for the cause."

Scully recoiled. His words were hurting her, yet she wanted to yell at Jane too, to shake her and find out what the hell was happening. But she felt paralyzed and all she could do was sit. She was unable to transcend her sadness. The lump in her throat silencing any anger she might have joined with Mulder in expressing.

Jane sat silently for a minute. Mulder was smoldering before her. She didn't know what to say. Finally, she looked up, "I have no earthly fucking idea what you are talking about."

Scully looked at Jane. She searched the officer's face for some hint that she could be telling the truth. She didn't know anymore, she couldn't judge. "Janie, I have to know the truth. I have to know if I've lost it, if my judgment is totally fucked," she cleared her throat, "if I was wrong abut you."

Mulder walked over to Scully and sat down beside her.

Jane looked at Dana, panicked, "Kate," she started.

"I told you, it's Scully." Dana said, "please, Jane, just tell us the truth."

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know, but first," she looked at Mulder, "please tell me why you were following me."

Mulder sighed, "That was never our intention."

"Oh?" Jane said jutting her jaw towards the photographs, "that's not the impression I'm getting." She paused. "Am I not worthy enough for your partner? Is that it Agent Mulder? You decided to do a background check on me to appease your paranoia?"

Scully interjected, "We were tracking the man in those photographs, Jane. We never expected to see you with him."

"He's my boss," Jane cried, "I see him every day!"

Mulder placed his hands like a steeple over his lips. "Tell us what you do for him. Tell us why you set up Agent Scully."

"I don't know what you are talking about!" Jane exclaimed, raising her hands. "Mr. Krycek is my boss, I report to him every night when I go on duty. Sometimes he has special assignments for me." Jane looked at Scully "Sometimes you have to jump through hoops to get what you want."

"And what hoops are Krycek making you jump through? Is seducing and then betraying Scully one of them?"

"What?" Jane exclaimed, "Kate, he knows about us?"

Scully nodded.

"I love Dana, Agent Mulder, and I would never betray her. I have no clue as to what you are trying to implicate me in, but I can assure you I've done nothing to beguile Agent Scully."

"Then how the hell do you explain all of the evidence to the contrary?" Mulder demanded.

Through clenched teeth, "Why don't you tell me what ievidence' you have, and I'll show you that I've done nothing wrong."

Scully interrupted, "Jane, what do you know about Krycek?"

She paused, softening, "Not that much, really, I know that he just moved here, that he was working in Korea for awhile and was then transferred to DC. He supervises my corps, he has some special assignments with the Embassy of Korea. Beyond that I don't know very much. I don't even know if he's married or not"

Scully leaned forward, a twinge of hope coursed through her. She forced it down. "Krycek is not what he appears to be," Scully started, "he's a deceitful, murderous traitor. He is part of a larger conspiracy," Scully glanced at Mulder, he was still staring at Jane, "of which we do not yet know the entire purpose."

Jane leaned back in her chair, absorbing what Dana was telling her.

"He killed Mulder's father, I think he was involved in Melissa's murder, and he's tried to eliminate us more times than I can count."

Jane let out a long sigh, "I didn't know, Dana, you have to believe me, I didn't know this."

"Prove it," Mulder demanded.

"How?" Janie asked.

"You can start by explaining this," he shoved the photo of her handing Krycek the package. "Tell us why you were giving this man a package that was later found to have contained a lethal toxin that has already killed two men," he paused, "and happened to have Agent Scully's name on it."

"And tell me what you did with my credit card," Dana said flatly.

Jane's mouth hung open, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"When I handed that package to Mr. Krycek, it contained a box of chocolates shaped in little hearts," she looked at Scully, "and your credit card."

"Oh, please, do you really expect us to believe that?" Mulder exploded.

"It's the truth!" Jane implored. She turned to Scully, "after you left the restaurant on Friday, the waiter brought your credit card back. I signed for you and took the credit card," looking at Mulder, "with the intention of giving it back." She turned back to Scully, "you were so nervous, Dana, I thought it might break the ice if I sent you the chocolate, and put the card in there as an afterthought." Jane brightened and lifted her forefinger in the air, "I included a note, I have the first draft in my briefcase." She jumped up and walked over to the table, returning with the briefcase. She rummaged through it, looking for the notepad she had used to write the rough draft of the love note to Scully.

"That doesn't explain why you gave it to Krycek." Mulder accused.

Jane paused from her rummaging, "I had just finished stuffing thirty manila envelopes with high-gloss invitations for some diplomatic event at the Korean embassy." She paused, "I told you, hoops." She continued to rummage through her briefcase, "I had addressed the envelopes and was giving them to Mr. Krycek for his final perusal and distribution. He saw the package addressed to Dana on the front seat of my car and said he would mail it for me with the other envelopes. I didn't think anything of it, I just thought he was being nice. So I gave it to him. Here it is!" Jane pulled out a little notepad and flipped through the pages. She put it on the table and looked at Scully, "read it. That's the note I wrote and put in the package with the candy and your credit card."

Scully lifted the notepad and read the rough draft.

Kate, iRoses are Red, Violets are Blue, I still love you red, I hope you do too.' Sorry, I'm no poet. But I wanted to let you know how great it was seeing you today and I hope that you will consider another iouting'. In the meantime enjoy these, you do know that chocolate releases the same endorphins as sex, right?

Hopefully yours, Janie

P.S. You were in such a hurry that you left your credit card. I hope you don't mind but I added on a hefty tip. She was cute, what can I say, I'm a sucker for lookers.

Scully handed the note to Mulder. She looked at Jane. She didn't know what to think, but she could again feel the hope building inside of her. "Krycek used my credit card to pay for two motel rooms in which he then killed two homeless men," Scully let out a long breath, "using the toxin that was proven to be in that package." She leaned over Mulder and grabbed the file, she pulled out the autopsy photos of the first victim and placed them on the table in front of Jane.

Jane looked at the picture and gasped, "Jesus Christ."

Mulder finished reading the note and tossed it on the table, "this still doesn't explain why you were handing Krycek the second murder victim," he held up the photograph of Jane placing the man in Krycek's car.

"I had just arrested him," she looked at Mulder and then Scully, "are you telling me that man is dead?"

Scully handed her the autopsy photos of the second man. "Yes, he's very much dead."

Janie looked at the photograph, her brain was working overtime. How could she have allowed herself to be used in that way?

"Dana, Mulder, I had nothing to do with those deaths. I had just arrested that man after finding him trying to climb the fence at the National Observatory. He was trying to get to the Vice President. Something about a brain implant." She paused, returning the photos to the table and sitting back, her arms crossed over her chest. "He was clearly a White House case. Krycek showed up at the scene just as I was calling for transport to EPRD. He told me that this guy was known to the Service already and had just escaped from St. Elizabeth's. He had to go there on the Hinkley case, so he said he would transport him."

"And you didn't think that was a bit odd?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah, I thought it was kind of weird that he would be going to St. E's on a Saturday to address the Hinkley release, but I just figured that the doctors worked crazy hours and Krycek was personally responsible to the Reagans. He wanted to be thorough"

"The Reagans?" Scully asked.

"Yeah, Krycek said that the Korean Ambassador was a personal friend of the Reagan family, and that he had a vested interest in whether this guy ever got released. He'd apparently asked Krycek to follow the progress of the release protocol. I just assumed that's what he was doing."

"I thought you only worked graveyard," Mulder stated suspiciously.

"I do, but I got called in on Saturday afternoon to cover. I wasn't scheduled to work Saturday night, but I figured I could spare a couple of hours to help out a colleague."

"What time did you get off?" Mulder asked.

"Seven," Jane answered.

"And then where did you go?"

"She has an alibi for the night of the second murder, Mulder." Scully looked at Jane, "She was with me," she paused, "all night."

"Oh," Mulder replied. "I don't suppose you have any proof of the arrest though, do you?" Mulder asked, still skeptical.

"Actually, I do. I was in such a hurry to see Dana for dinner that I skipped submitting the 4L16 paperwork on the guy. I was going to file it tomorrow night." Jane reached into her briefcase that was sitting on the floor beside her and pulled out a thin file. She handed it to Mulder.

Mulder took the file and looked over it while Jane and Scully simply looked at each other. When he was finished, he handed the file to Scully, "Just like she said."

Scully took the file and read it. When she looked up, her eyes welled up with tears. This confirmed for her what she'd really known all along. That Jane was as much a victim in this as she and Mulder were.

Seeing Dana's tears, Jane leapt out of her chair and knelt in front of Scully, "Honey, I swear on my mothers grave that I have done nothing to betray you, or set you up, or God forbid commit murder."

Scully accepted Jane's hand. Mulder stood up and walked to the window. He wasn't ready to trust Jane yet, but he could tell Scully was starting to believe her.

"Jane, I·" She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "I don't know what to say." She did believe Jane but remnants of the pain she'd felt at the mere thought of her betrayal lingered.

"Listen to me, Kate, you know me, you've always known me. I couldn't do this, I couldn't do this thing he says I did," she paused, quickly glancing at Mulder and then back at Scully, "obviously Krycek is using me to get to you. I didn't even know that he knew you."

"But he knows that you know Scully." Mulder interrupted, still looking out the window. "In fact, if he replaced the note and chocolates, then he knows how *much* you know Scully."

Jane thought about the implications of that. She wasn't afraid for herself, but for Dana. How else was Krycek going to use her to get to Scully? Although, now that she knew what he was up to, maybe she could use that to their advantage. She looked at Mulder. "That's probably why he decided to use me, he knew that I could get closer to her than he could." She started to formulate a plan, "we can use this to fight him, Mulder. But I have to know that you believe me." Jane stated, looking at Mulder and then Scully.

Tears were streaming down Dana's face and Jane moved to sit next to her. She placed her hand in Scully's and held it to her lips. "Kate, I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. I would die for you." And she meant it, she would do anything to protect Dana. That included jeopardizing her job.

Scully wiped her eyes with her sleeve then looked into Jane's eyes. She allowed herself a small smile, "I believe you."

Jane sighed with relief. "Tell me what I can do to brink Krycek in."

Mulder returned to where the two women sat and flopped down in the chair Jane had been sitting in. He still wasn't ready to completely trust her, but she did seem to be genuinely in the dark about everything, and her story appeared to check out. He would make sure though, and have Langley double check her account.

"There are some things you should know, " Mulder said and then he and Scully proceeded to delve into a three-hour narrative of their very complex relationship with Alex Krycek. Pausing only long enough to open a bottle of wine. They all needed it.

End Chapter Ten

* * *

CHAPTER ELEVEN

*Tuesday, 3:31 a.m., Scully's apartment*

After they had finished their tale about Alex Krycek, and knocked off the entire bottle of wine, Scully insisted that Mulder sleep over and gave him a blanket and pillow for the sofa.

He stripped down to his boxers and T-shirt and climbed under the blanket. He was still concerned about Jane, and whether they could trust her. But he had to let Scully figure it out for herself. He would do what he could to find out more about her, and in the meantime pray for the best as Scully let Jane into her life.

He turned off the light and rolled onto his side. Within a few minutes he was snoring.

In the bedroom, Scully and Jane sat next to each other on the edge of the bed for a very long time. They said nothing, they just sat. Scully was wiped out, she'd had a hell of a night. Jane couldn't remember the last time she had felt so· she didn't even know what words to use to describe how she felt.

Jane reached over for Scully's hand and took it in her own, "Dana, I am so sorry that Krycek has hurt you. I can only imagine what you must have been feeling when you thought that I had been setting you up."

"Jane," Scully started and then found that she couldn't speak. She was suddenly overcome with tears and her body shook as she tried to force them back.

Jane wrapped her arms around the petite FBI agent and held her while she sobbed. Jane wiped away Dana's tears by kissing each cheek, and when it seemed as though Scully had regained control, Jane lifted Dana's chin with her forefinger and softly kissed her lips. Scully responded by placing her hands on Jane's cheeks and deepened the kiss to allow her tongue to probe inside the other woman's mouth.

Suddenly, the torrent of emotions she'd been keeping in check came rushing to the surface. Scully felt frantic, intense, out of control. She hated it, yet she relished it. Ultimately, she used it. With an intensity that matched only her desire, Scully forced Jane to the mattress and climbed on top of the stunned officer.

Pinning her down, Scully leaned towards Jane's ear, her breath was hot, "I can make you come, just tell me what you want."

Jane felt a stream of electricity course through her. She was stunned into silence. Her lover's body pressed firmly against her own, her hands being held above her by Dana's forceful grip. She stared into her lover's eyes.

Dana stared back, tightening her grip on Jane's hands, enjoying the sharp intake of breath this produced in her lover. "Tell me," she ordered.

"This," Jane replied and seized Dana's mouth. They joined in a passionate kiss, their tongues meeting, their mouths warm and eager. Dana held firm to Jane's hands, keeping her pinned to the mattress, while probing the inside of Janie's mouth with her darting tongue.

Without warning, Scully straightened up and climbed off of the bed. "Turn around," she ordered, "on your hands and knees."

Jane, startled, did as she was told and turned around, her back to Scully.

Dana knelt on the bed behind Jane and drove her hands under the bulky sweater the officer was wearing. With one swift movement she pulled it up and over Jane's head, forcing the officer to straighten her body and lean against her. Tossing the sweater aside, Dana brought her arms around and seized Jane's breasts with both hands. She nibbled on Jane's neck, ear, and when Jane turned her head to meet her, her lips. She drew the officer's tongue into her mouth and selfishly sucked on it. Dana was feverish, frantic, she wanted Jane, she wanted all of her, and she wanted her right now!

Jane's body was sizzling, a constant throbbing radiated from between her legs and she was desperate for Scully to capture here there too. Jane leaned her head against Dana's shoulder, her arms reaching up and behind her to grasp Dana's head. Their mouths met again and then Scully shoved her hands underneath the officer's skirt and yanked it up.

"Do you want me in you?" Scully asked, eagerly rubbing one hand along Jane's ass while pressing the palm of the other on Janie's forehead.

Jane could only let out a gasp.

Scully lifted her knee and placed it between Jane's legs forcing her to spread them wide. She rubbed the officer's ass and then delved deeper, lower, she allowed her fingers to linger on the fringe of Jane's cunt, slowly inching between the folds. "Tell me!" Dana demanded.

"Yes!" Jane exclaimed, "oh, Jesus, fuck, yes!"

Dana plunged her forefinger into the waiting pussy and then drew it out just as forcefully. Then she plunged two fingers in, while rubbing Jane's swollen clit with her middle finger. She lunged in and out, faster and faster. Raging with desire, and lust, and relief. She forced Jane onto her hands again, and paused only long enough to discard her own T-shirt and bra. She unzipped her khakis, but left them on. Then she resumed her furious pace, returning her fingers to Jane's cunt.

Jane was already climaxing, but she didn't want to come, not yet. She wanted to feel Dana's body against her own. She straightened up and brought her arms behind her. She reached under the fabric of Scully's pants and squeezed the FBI agent's ass.

Scully kept her fingers firmly in Jane, as her breasts mashed against her lover's back. Her kisses passionately devouring Jane's mouth, cheek, neck. Jane was kneading Scully's ass, they were both hot and sweaty, too tired to stay kneeling much longer.

Scully knew what Jane wanted, "Got you, right? You want this? You want me to fuck you?", breathless, hurried.

Scully rammed her fingers in and out, forcing the woman back on her hands. She rocked her pelvis against Jane's ass in conjunction with the finger fucking she was giving her. The rhythm of her breathing accelerated, countering each thrust. Banging, fucking, in and out, in and out. Dana was relentless. She could feel Janie building.

"Yes," Janie squeaked, feeling the juices rush out of her, as every nerve in her body stood at attention ready for the final release that was right on the cusp of dawning.

"Keep·fucking·you·?" Scully breathed, picking up the pace. Her own burning clitoris coming alive, ready to explode.

"Oh," Janie let out. She shut her eyes, her body quivered as each wave of excited pleasure ripped through her.

"Oh, God, Oh, fuck, Kate, I'm·I'm coming." Jane thrust her hips against Dana's hand. She threw back her head and let out a groan. Her body quivered, shaking, spent, still excited.

Scully kept her fingers inside of Jane until she felt the last shudder. Then she withdrew her hand and brought it around against Jane's belly, bringing it up to rest on a breast while her lips grazed the officer's neck.

Jane suddenly turned around and grabbed Scully's shoulders. She roughly guided her against the bed, forcing the redhead to lay on her back. Jane pulled Scully's khakis down and off, and then kneeled so that her mouth was on top of the FBI agent's soft center.

"Ah, yes," Scully whispered.

Her lips tender, she captured Scully's clit and sucked eagerly. Scully bucked against the officer's mouth, but Jane used her hands against Scully's ass to hang on. Jane's tongue scraped across the redhead's aching sex, causing Dana to writhe against the mattress below her. Jane sucked, and licked and darted her tongue in and out until she could tell Scully was near climax.

A thunderstorm was brewing inside of Dana, ready to open up and release the heavens. She arched her back, her hips meeting her lover's mouth in a marriage of pure pleasure and delicious torture. The frenzied intensity she felt before only doubled·tripled·as she felt each of her nerve endings ignite, and then emit ripples of ecstasy that coursed throughout her body.

Jane held on until Dana's orgasm subsided and then she slowly moved up her lover's sweaty, depleted body. She kissed her belly, rolled her tongue around one erect nipple and then the other, and then finally found Scully's open, relaxed mouth. They kissed, lazily, without the delirium of their lovemaking, but languishing in its wake.

Scully wrapped her arms around her lover as they crawled underneath the covers. They were both close to sleep,

The emotions of the day having taken their toll, Scully felt another tear roll down her cheek. But this time it was not due to fear, or sadness, or pain. It was because she knew this was where she belonged, where she had always belonged. Because she was certain that Jane could never have deceived her, that Jane was only one of two people in this world that she could always count on, no matter what.

Her body told her these things with a certainty that comes only once in a lifetime.

End Chapter Eleven.

* * *

CHAPTER TWELVE

*Tuesday, 7:14 a.m., Scully's apartment*

The sun was warm on her face. Scully rolled towards it, smiling. She glanced over at Jane who was still sleeping blissfully. Scully remembered the events of the evening before and shuddered. How could she have gone from incredibly happy to completely devastated to wholly satisfied all in the span of less than eight hours? She never wanted to experience that again. Yet she wouldn't trade its result for anything in the world.

Scully yawned and stretched her arms above her head. She suddenly realized she had overslept, and that Mulder was in the next room. A.D. Kerch would use something as simple as tardiness against them, so she didn't want to risk it by languishing in bed any longer.

She gently kissed Jane's cheek and then slipped out of bed. Pulling on her terry cloth robe that had been hanging on the hook behind the door, Scully crept out of the bedroom and into the hallway. She closed the door behind her, careful not to wake Jane, and then tiptoed into the living room.

Mulder was curled up in a fetal position on the sofa, and Scully had to smile at how cute he looked while he was sleeping. She silently chuckled to herself as she knelt down beside him and leaned into his ear.

Softly, "Marty."

Mulder stirred.

"Marty, it's Ginger," Scully teased, her voice throaty and low.

"C'mon sexy, time to get it up, baby." Scully had to stifle her laughter as Mulder rolled on his back and smiled in his sleep.

"Mhm, Ginger," he whispered.

"Get up Marty, it's show time," Scully was enjoying this.

Mulder rolled back on his side and tucked his hands between his knees. "Ginger one or Ginger two?" he asked, still asleep.

Scully snickered into her hand. "There's two?"

Mulder opened his eyes and saw his redheaded partner smirking back at him. "That's not very nice, Scully, teasing a man about his intimate relationships," he said straight-faced.

"What intimate relationship, Mulder?" Scully said, getting up, "you mean the intimate relationship you have with the phone?"

She walked into the kitchen, glancing back at him, "or the one with your hand?"

Mulder kicked off the blanket and sat up, scratching his head with both hands. "You know, getting laid seems to bring out this really caustic side of you Scully,"

Scully was at the sink, pouring water into a teapot, she replaced the lid when it was full. "Huh?" she asked, hoping that he didn't mean what she thought he meant.

He stood up and walked into the kitchen. After standing in front of the open refrigerator door for a minute, he finally picked out a jug of orange juice and opened the lid; he was about to drink from the container.

"Use a glass, Mulder," Scully admonished, reaching into a cabinet to hand her partner a juice glass.

Mulder accepted the glass and poured the juice into it. He returned the jug to the top shelf of the fridge and then shut the door. He gulped down the juice and placed the glass in the sink. "Did you really think I couldn't hear all that racket last night?"

Scully turned to the stove, her face turning red. She smiled at the teakettle, "sorry," she offered.

"No, no, don't be sorry," Mulder waved his hand towards the bedroom door, "you should know by now that I get my kicks vicariously," he teased.

"Okay, that's enough of that topic," Scully decreed. "We are very late for work. Do you want to take a shower first?"

"Sure," Mulder agreed and sauntered towards the hallway, "it'll only take me a minute" he offered, "just in case you want to, you know, get something in·"

"Shut up, Mulder." Scully warned, as she turned to tend to the whistling kettle.

Mulder chuckled and moved on to the bathroom. He was glad to see Scully so contented, but he still didn't entirely trust the source of her happiness. He would try and take care of those lingering doubts today.

While Mulder was in the bathroom, Scully straightened up the living room. She folded the blanket and placed it with the pillow into the hall closet. She put the wine bottle in the recycling bin and the glasses in the sink.

As the sink was filling with soapy water, she poured the boiling water from the kettle into her mug and dropped a tea bag into it. Red Zinger, that should help her wake up. When the sink was full of warm soapy water, she turned off the faucet and dropped the rag in. She picked up a glass and absently started washing it. Wiping the outside and then dipping the cloth inside the well of the glass to clean out the vestiges of the red wine they had consumed last evening.

Without warning Scully sensed a presence behind her. Before she could turn around, Jane slipped her arms around Scully's waist and kissed the back of her neck.

Scully responded with a soft moan, "Oh, now, I do like that," she declared.

Jane pressed her thinly robed body against Scully's and then slipped her hands into the soapy water so they joined her lover's. She placed her hands over Scully's and they washed the dishes together. Neither woman spoke, they simply reveled in the erotic sensation of the warm water against their skin, their bodies pressed together.

Jane's breath was hot on Dana's neck as they washed the last glass and placed it in the drain board. Scully turned around to face her lover, "Good morning," she said, smiling.

They kissed; their tongues joined in a tender waltz as their arms enveloped each other.

"I missed you when I woke up," Jane stated, as she stared into Scully's eyes and ran her forefinger along the FBI agent's bottom lip.

"I didn't want to wake you up,"

Jane gave Scully a peck on the nose and then stepped over to the cupboard to get a mug. She pulled out a teabag from the box on the counter and placed it in the cup. While pouring the water from the teakettle she formed a sly grin, "you probably should have, then it might have saved Agent Mulder some embarrassment."

Scully had taken a seat at the table and was sipping her tea. She arched her eyebrow, "what do you mean?

Jane joined her at the table, "I mean, I thought *you* were the one in the shower,"

Scully looked up, she giggled, "oh, no·"

"Oh, yes, I'm surprised you didn't hear him yelp." Jane said, amused.

Scully tossed back her head and laughed just as Mulder entered the room. He had one towel around his waist and another in his hand that he was currently using to dry behind his ears. He tossed his folded up boxers and T-shirt in a chair and turned toward the two women.

He shook the towel at Jane, "you," he started and then decided to drop it as both women could barely contain their laughter.

"I guess it's my turn," Scully announced as she stood up and placed her mug in the sink. "I'll only be a couple of minutes." She pointed to Mulder, a grin still on her face, "are you gonna want to stop at your place for some clothes?"

"Uh huh, I don't have any extra clothes at work,' he replied still rubbing the towel to dry his hair.

"Okay, I'll make it fast," she promised as she glanced at the clock and realized they were already thirty minutes late.

Mulder walked into the living room, picking up his boxers and T-shirt on the way. "Turn around, please," he asked Jane, "I need to get dressed."

"Oh, Agent Mulder, it's not like I haven't already seen it," Jane laughed.

Mulder just stood there, his hands on his hips, trying to emit his most serious look.

Jane held up her hands, "alright, alright," she agreed, as she turned around in her chair to face the kitchen wall. She hummed a tune while Mulder quickly dressed and when she sensed him approaching the kitchen she turned back around.

Mulder sat at the table across from Jane. He placed the palm of his hands flat on the table and appeared to be thinking about what he wanted to say.

"Agent Mulder, you do not need to worry about me." Jane blurted.

"It's not you that I'm worried about," Mulder replied.

"You don't have to worry about Kate, either." Jane assured him, she leaned over the table, "I love her, and I know what that means. It means I would do nothing to hurt her."

Mulder just stared back at her, "I hope that's true," he said flatly.

"It is."

*9:17 a.m., FBI Hoover building*

They had been at their desks for no longer than ten minutes when Skinner walked by and dropped a note in front of Scully. She opened it up and then tapped Mulder on the shoulder as she stood up to follow Skinner. Mulder followed her.

They went to the basement, the photo lab, which was currently empty. Mulder and Scully leaned against a counter as Skinner closed the door and then turned to face them.

"I have more information for you," he stated.

"About?" Mulder asked, moving to sit on a nearby stool. Scully stood behind him.

"Krycek," Skinner replied and then handed a folder to the agents. Mulder took it and opened it while Scully looked over his shoulder.

"Give us the short version, sir," Scully requested, "what are we looking at?"

"That," pointing at the file in Mulder's hand, " is classified information on Krycek's activities in Korea." Skinner rubbed his chin. "I had to call in a hell of a lot of favors to get that information."

Mulder looked over the file, "it says here that he was working under the guise of the CIA, a special assistant to the U.S. Ambassador."

Scully grabbed a document out of the folder and read it more thoroughly. She looked up at Skinner, "Sir, do you realize what this says?" she asked.

"I don't have your medical expertise, but I have a pretty good idea," he answered.

"What?" Mulder asked, looking at Scully and then Skinner.

Scully handed him the document, she pointed to a line on the middle of the page. "That is a chemical formula for a biological agent. The same agent that we've found as an active ingredient in the toxin that killed those two men." Scully explained. She looked at Skinner, "and the U.S. Government is aware of this?"

"It appears so, at least the CIA is," Skinner answered.

Mulder finished reading the document, "So now we are developing biological weapons with Korea?" Mulder asked, astonished.

Skinner shook his head. "The Government is never going to acknowledge this, we signed a treaty outlawing biological warfare." Skinner jutted his jaw at the file, "this is something different."

"Do you recognize the compound structure?" Mulder asked Scully.

"No, it's organic, but beyond that I can't identify it, I'd need to get a pure sample under a microscope before I could even begin a guess," Scully replied.

"My guess is Krycek has loads of pure samples for you," Skinner deduced, "if you can get your hands on any of it."

Mulder nodded his head, still looking over the file.

"What happened with your friend, Agent Scully, have you dealt with that situation?" Skinner asked.

"Yes, sir," Scully started, "it was just a misunderstanding. Krycek is aware that she is a friend of mine, and has been using her to get to me." Scully paused, glancing at Mulder. "Now that we know what he's up to, we can use it to our advantage."

"Good, but remember, you have to be careful. I cannot bail you out if any of this boils over before you have any evidence."

"We're making progress, sir," Scully stated, "it shouldn't be long before we can give you enough to bring Krycek in."

"I need enough to not only bring him in, but to keep him down." Skinner stated as he headed towards the door, "remember, only contact me if you have to, A.D. Kerch is already getting suspicious of your activities and involvement in the murder investigation. This cannot be linked to me or we are all going to lose a lot more than just our jobs."

"Yes sir," Scully stated, "we know."

Skinner opened the door and walked out of the lab. Mulder was still looking over the file when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his suit pocket and raised the antenna. "Mulder," he barked.

Scully took the file from Mulder and walked over to the counter where she set it down and opened it up. She leaned over it, and perused each document and photograph while Mulder finished his telephone conversation.

Mulder pushed the antenna down and walked over to Scully, he placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned around and leaned against the counter.

"That was Langley, they just finished doing some background checks for me."

"Let me guess, on Jane."

Mulder nodded his head.

"Mulder, I don't need to hear it, I believe her. If you can't trust my judgment, that's your problem. But I don't need the kind of proof that you do."

Mulder chuckled, "And how many times have I said the very same thing to you?"

Scully crossed her arms and smiled, "I've lost count," she said.

"Well, I know you don't need to hear it, but her story checks out. She did arrest the second victim and he was an escapee from St. Elizabeth's. Even the Hinkley story appears to be true." Mulder shrugged, "it was just bad timing that Krycek found out about her relationship with you at the same time that she stumbled back into your life."

Scully nodded, surprised at her feeling of relief. She believed Jane, but somehow it was comforting to know that now Mulder believed her too.

"Scully, there's some other stuff as well. Jane had some problems in California, which is why she came to DC in the first place. Nothing that was her fault·"

Scully held up her hand palm side out, "Mulder, stop there, if Jane has anything in her past that she doesn't want me to know, I have to respect that. I don't want to learn it from you."

Mulder nodded and moved closer to his partner. "I know this kind of sentimentality is unlike me," he took her hand, "but I want you to know that I am just as relieved as you are that Jane is in you life, and that she is in your life because she *wants* to be there, because you want her to be there. And not for any other reason."

Scully looked up at her partner and smiled. "Thank you."

Mulder opened his mouth as if to say something and then closed it again.

Scully squeezed his hand, "What?"

"Scully, I think you know how I feel about you, I mean, not just as my partner, but as a person in my life."

Scully was surprised, "You're right, Mulder, you are being uncharacteristically sentimental,"

He smiled, "that day, when you said you were leaving the FBI·"

"Before I was stung by the bee?" Scully asked, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

Mulder moved to lean against the counter beside her, not releasing her hand. "Yeah, then, when I told you that you'd saved me." He looked down at his shifting feet, "I meant that, Scully."

"I know you did," Scully confirmed.

"And when I kissed you, or when I tried to kiss you," Mulder reddened, "I didn't do it because of·because of any kind of·"

Scully turned her head to face her partner, "I think I know why you did it Mulder."

"I thought I was losing the only person in my life that knew me better than I knew myself," Mulder confessed, his words spilling out. "I was afraid to be alone." He shook his head, "No, that's not it," looking into the sky blue of her eyes, "I was afraid to be without *you*"

Scully grinned, not exactly sure where her partner was headed, "Mulder, it's okay·"

"No, let me finish." Mulder pleaded, "We never really talked about what happened in the hallway that day, and I want to explain it. Especially now, now that you have Jane." He took a deep breath, "I don't think I am capable of loving someone in the way that you describe your feelings for Jane, in the way that is obvious with Jane. Let's face it, I'm too narcissistic for that kind of intimacy."

Scully grinned.

He continued, "But the closest I have ever come to that is my relationship with you, professionally, personally, whatever. That day in the hallway I felt like my world was crashing in around me." He took a deep breath. "This is probably really selfish, but you were the only lifesaver I had, the only person who could not only save me, but save my passion, my work," Mulder paused, "and suddenly I was losing you, too." He stopped, looking into Scully's eyes again, "And I felt like you were losing yourself. That suddenly nothing was important, that they had taken all of that away from us."

Scully nodded, remembering the hopelessness she'd felt at the time. The resignation that they'd lost to whatever force was trying to keep them down.

"Scully, I realized then exactly how much your presence in my sorry life mattered to me. How much *you* mattered to me." He paused, "and when I leaned in to kiss you, it was out of that affection, and nothing else."

Scully squeezed Mulder's hand and then dropped it. She turned to face him fully and tipped her head up towards his. Standing on her tiptoes, she paused for a second, and then gently kissed him on the lips.

When Scully delicately moved away, Mulder looked surprised, but he had no delusions as to Scully's motivations.

She leaned back and looked at her partner, "So, what you're saying is that you didn't want to just get me into your bed?"

Mulder let out a chortle. He touched his finger to his mouth, "and that was just a pity kiss, I suppose?"

Scully reached up and ran her thumb along Mulder's lips, wiping off the remnants of her lipstick. When she'd finished, she tugged on his arm, leading him to the door. "C'mon, let's go set us a rat trap."

Mulder followed her out the door, feeling lighter than he had in years.

End Chapter Twelve.

* * *

CHAPTERS THIRTEEN THRU SIXTEEN

*Tuesday, 957 a.m., FBI building*

They headed down the corridor towards their office.

Mulder stopped and reached for Scully's arm. "So, just tell me one thing, Scully," he raised an eyebrow.

Scully just stared back with her own eyebrow raised.

"Why does she call you Kate?"

Scully's cheeks reddened. She hesitated, grinned, looked at her feet and then back at her partner. "None of your business," she replied and then continued to walk down the corridor, leaving Mulder to stare after her.

*Tuesday, 721 p.m., Scully's apartment*

They knew they could do no more at the office. There were eyes and ears everywhere. If they were going to set a trap for Krycek it would have to be planned after hours.

Scully was preparing dinner while Mulder went over all of the evidence against Krycek. Jane had to work that evening and so was catching a quick nap in Scully's bed.

"So if we give Krycek a reason to trust Jane, you think she can lead him right to us?" Mulder asked.

"I don't know if that is the best course of action, Mulder. I don't want to put her in jeopardy."

"She's a big girl, Scully, I think she can handle it."

"That's not the point," Scully said, turning from the stove where she had been stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce, "this is not her fight, it's ours."

"I'd say she's involved now," Mulder replied getting up from his seat at the table to walk over to Scully and the bubbling sauce. He dipped his finger in the sauce and took a taste. Scully slapped his hand away.

"Go sit down," she barked and pointed towards his seat at the table.

Mulder did as he was told. "We have to figure this out, Scully. And Jane has to be a part of it, you know that."

Scully said nothing. She knew he was right but the last thing she wanted to do was put Jane in the middle of their fight with Krycek.

"Okay, we'll come up with something. But I want Jane's involvement to be minimal"

"Kate, if I can help bring this guy down, then I need to be just as involved as you and Fox."

Neither Mulder nor Scully had heard the young officer enter the room. She had that just awakened look about her and Scully felt herself stir. She quickly berated herself for the pleasure. That would have to wait for later.

Jane walked over to the table and sat next to Mulder. "What's the plan Sam?"

Mulder chuckled. Now that he knew Jane was on their side, he could enjoy her sense of humor.

"Well, maybe we should start by going over what we already know..."

"No, I think we should start by having you two slugs help me with dinner. One of you can set the table, the other can make the salad."

Jane and Mulder looked at each other and said in unison, "I'll set the table."

They all laughed, and then Mulder flipped a coin. He lost. Scully pointed him to the salad fixings on the counter. "Get chopping, G-man."

*Tuesday, 1047 p.m., Scully's apartment*

After feasting on Spaghetti, salad and garlic bread, the trio settled into the living room to finalize their plans for trapping Krycek.

"So, you don't want me to let on that I know anything?"

"Right," Scully replied turning to look at Jane sitting beside her.

"We want to wait and see what he is going to do next," Mulder stated from his seat in the chair opposite the sofa. "The more confident he is in his deception, the better off we are. He's bound to fuck up if he thinks we are in the dark."

"That's true, but if he finds out I am wearing a wire, that's it. The gig is up."

"He can't find out, Jane. You have to keep a discrete distance." Scully implored.

"Just try and act as natural as possible. My guess is that Krycek is going to come to you. He knows about your relationship with Scully, he's going to try and use that to his advantage somehow," Mulder explained.

"Right, okay. I can do this, no big deal," Jane declared, although the butterflies in her stomach sang a different tune.

"In the meantime, Scully and I are going to try and figure out what he and this Korean diplomat are cooking up."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Don't worry, Jane. We have sources," Mulder winked at her.

Scully rolled her eyes, she knew exactly which three sources Mulder was referring to.

"Okay, all I need now is the wire," Jane exhaled.

"Right here," Mulder raised his index finger and then reached into his jeans pocket. He pulled out a device no bigger than a Bic pen.

"That's it?" Jane asked.

"Yep," Mulder stated, he opened a compartment and checked the battery then closed the compartment. He tossed the pen to Jane. "Stick that in your pocket, but remember it doesn't write. This end," he stood up and walked to his jacket and pulled out a digital device the size of a hand held tape recorder, "goes into the cab of your squad car. Wherever you are, as long as you are within range of the vehicle, it will record the conversations that you pick up on that," he pointed to the pen in Jane's hand and then handed her the recorder.

"And what is the radius of transmission?" Jane asked looking at the device curiously.

"One square mile," Mulder answered.

"Okay, I think we're good to go," Jane declared, trying to make her voice sound optimistic.

Scully looked sideways at her lover. She could tell that her light attitude was an act. But she knew about having to act. She'd done it enough times herself. How many times had she uttered the words 'I'm fine, Mulder' when in fact she had not been fine? Too many to count.

"I need to get dressed," Jane declared and jumped up from the sofa. She walked into the bedroom where her clean and pressed uniform was hanging on the back of the door.

After Jane had left, Scully stared at her partner. "What?"

"I was just thinking about what is going to happen when all of this blows over," Mulder replied pensively.

"What do you mean?"

He thought for a minute. "Nothing, nevermind," Mulder didn't want to share his fear that now that Scully had someone in her life she would abandon the X Files. Even though he felt that selfishly about it, he didn't want to share it with Scully.

Scully stared at her partner but decided not to pursue it. She had a feeling she didn't want to know anyway. "Excuse me for a minute," she stated and got up to head towards the bedroom, "I'll be right back."

Mulder grinned.

Scully ignored him.

In the bedroom Jane was just about to button up her crisp white uniform blouse when her redheaded lover walked in. She smiled wide, "I wondered if you would come in here," She said as she walked towards the FBI agent and fell into her embrace.

"I didn't want it to seem too obvious," Scully replied, her arms around Jane's waist, her hands caressing the nakedness of Janie's back from beneath the cotton fabric of her uniform. "Of course it was completely obvious," she giggled and then allowed her lips to meet Jane's.

The two women stood there, arms around each other as if holding on for dear life. They kissed, tenderly at first and then with more passion. Scully brought her hands around to touch the officers breasts. She slipped the fabric of Jane's bra up so that she could expose them. Then she leaned down and took a nipple in her mouth and twirled it around her tongue. Jane let her head fall back as she reveled in the sensation of Dana's mouth on her tender flesh. Jane ran her hand through Dana's tresses and let out a slight moan.

"Shit, shit, shit" Janie moaned.

Scully paused, "Well that wasn't quite the reaction I was looking for."

Jane smiled. "No, shit to the fact that I have to leave for work.". She planted a light kiss on Scully's lips and then stepped back to finish dressing.

"I don't think I want to sleep in my bed without you," Scully sighed, looking at the bed that now seemed entirely too big for her.

"That's sweet, but I will be off dogwatch before you know it," Jane stated optimistically. She put the 'pen' in her shirt pocket. "One way or another."

Scully stood before her lover and held her hands. "Be careful. Do not raise his suspicion. If you start to feel like you are in danger, stop whatever you are doing and call me, okay?"

Jane kissed the tip of Scully's nose, "Yes, yes, yes. I will be careful, honey." She raised her hand in a Girl Scout salute "I swear."

"Good," Dana replied as she stepped over to the bedroom door and opened it.

Mulder was sitting in front of the TV with the remote in his hand. He looked up at the two women as they entered the room.

"Remember, if you feel any danger at all, you call us." Mulder instructed as he stood up to inspect Jane's appearance. He couldn't see the pen and was satisfied that she had it hidden well enough that Krycek wouldn't notice it either.

"Yes dad," Jane teased, "mom already gave me the lecture," She stated jerking her head towards Scully.

Mulder smiled, it was funny how his feelings for Jane could change in only a matter of a day. But he could see that she was important to Scully. And that made her important to him as well. "Just making sure," He stated

"I'll be fine," Jane insisted as she put on her jacket and buckled up her service belt. She turned to Scully who was standing beside her at the door and leaned in for a kiss.

Mulder blushed and returned to his seat on the sofa, he was going to have to get used to this. Scully was in love. He didn't know what that meant for him and that made him uneasy.

When Jane was out the door, Scully closed it and looked at the back of her partner's head as he faced the television set. She knew something was bothering him, but she also knew that he would tell her in his own good time.

"Well, at this point I guess it is wait and see," Scully stated as she flopped down on the sofa next to Mulder.

"Are you going to be okay?" Mulder asked as he tapped the back of his partner's hand, "with her out there all night, do you think you'll be able to get any sleep?"

"Mulder," Scully exclaimed.

"No, no," he grinned, "I didn't mean that, Scully. Get your head out of the gutter. I meant, are you going to be able to sleep knowing that she is a part of this now?"

"Oh," Scully paused. She looked at her partner. "What do you think?" Scully asked

"Hell no," he replied.

"Exactly," She confirmed.

"So, do you want to stay up and watch some TV?" Mulder asked, shaking the remote at his partner. "Or do you want me to go so you can at least try and get some shuteye?"

Scully looked at the clock and then at the TV. She settled back against the sofa cushions and propped her feet up on the coffee table. "Just as long as it's not your usual brand of entertainment."

"Fair 'nuff" Mulder replied and began clicking his way through the channels.

*Wednesday, 237 a.m., Scully's apartment*

The ringing phone is what woke her up. At first she was unsure of where she was. And who was this sleeping person beside her? She opened her eyes further and by the light of the glowing television set found the phone on the coffee table in front of her. She picked it up.

"Scully," she said, sleepily

There was nothing on the other end. This caused Scully to swing her legs around and sit up straight. She glanced back at her sleeping partner and shook him awake. They had fallen asleep on the sofa together, Mulder on one end, Scully on the other, only their toes had been touching.

"What?" Mulder asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands.

Scully pointed to the phone at her ear. With more urgency, "Scully!"

"Da-," Then nothing.

Scully was fully awake now and staring wide-eyed at Mulder. "Mulder..."

"What is it?" Mulder asked, concerned.

Scully listened to the phone but the other party had already hung up. She was sure it was Jane. She pushed the off button then pushed the on button and dialed FBI headquarters. "I need a trace on the last incoming call on this line," she stated, staring at Mulder who had already turned off the television and was pacing the floor in front of her. "Thank you," Scully whispered.

"Well?"

"It was Jane's cell phone." Scully replied. She dialed Jane's cell number and let it ring.

There was no answer.

"Okay, let's not panic, she may have turned off her phone or left it in her car. Maybe she can't talk right now." Mulder didn't believe a word of it, but he wanted to reassure his partner. "Let's just wait a minute and see if she tries to call back."

Scully just stared at him. She wanted to run out and find Jane, but didn't even know where to begin.

"In the meantime, I'll call Frohike and see if they know anything. They are supposed to have been following Krycek. If he has her, they should know about it."

Scully nodded her head.

Mulder made the call from his cell phone and spoke with Frohike who knew nothing of the officer's whereabouts, but said he would contact Langley who was supposed to be following Krycek. Mulder hung up his phone and turned to look at Scully. "What do you want to do?" he asked.

"I don't know what to do," Scully replied, but before she could say anything else, Mulder's phone rang.

"Mulder," he barked. Scully stood in front of him as he listened to the person on the other end. When he hung up the phone he grabbed his jacket from the back of the desk chair and pointed at Scully "Put your shoes on and lets go, they've found her squad car."

*Wednesday, 301 a.m. Fourth and North Capitol street NE, Washington DC*

They pulled up beside the secret service squad car where Frohike was already waiting. Scully jumped out of the passenger side of the FBI issued sedan before Mulder even had a chance to put the car in park. She swiftly strode to where Frohike was standing and peered into the cab of the car. "What happened," She demanded.

"The best we can tell Krycek was made aware of her surveillance of him."

"What do you mean made aware?" Mulder asked as he stepped over to the passenger side of the car and tried the door. It was locked.

"We don't have all the details yet, but evidently Officer Whitlaw was being followed," Frohike paused and looked at Mulder. "Langley said he saw agent Fowley meeting with Krycek just before Officer Whitlaw was picked up."

"And what does that have to do with this?" Mulder asked.

Scully stared at Mulder.

"Langley was able to hear their conversation, she didn't mention the officer by name, but she said enough for Langley to believe that Diana was tipping him off to someone's surveillance." Frohike paused. "After I got your call, we put two and two together and realized that Officer Whitlaw was the person Agent Fowley was referring to."

Scully continued to stare at Mulder accusingly 'I hope you have no delusions as to her allegiances now' she wanted to say. But she bit her tongue and held back. Just as Mulder had to come to his own conclusions about Jane's loyalty, he was going to have to come to his own conclusions about Diana's disloyalty. She turned to Frohike "How did you find her car?"

"That was pretty easy, Langley had been following Krycek and knew that Officer Whitlaw must have been nearby," Frohike answered.

"But I thought you said that Krycek abducted her," Scully asked.

"No, he had her taken. He didn't do it himself. He gave the order to some prehistoric looking fellow," Frohike paused, "If we had known that Whitlaw was one of yours, we would have tailed her too."

"We didn't think of it," Mulder said more to himself than to Frohike. He could kick himself for not thinking of this. Krycek might be a moron, but he wasn't so stupid to not cover his bases and predict their movements.

"We have to find them," Scully declared. "Starting here." She picked up a loose brick from the sidewalk and returned to the car with it. Without pausing she threw it through the drivers side of the squad car spraying glass all over the front seat of the cab. She reached in to unlock the door.

"Careful, Scully," Mulder cautioned as he watched his partner open the door and reach into the car.

"What are you looking for?" Frohike inquired.

"This," Scully replied as she backed out of the squad car with the recording device in her hand. It was still activated, though they could not hear anything. Scully showed it to her partner and then hit the play button. There was nothing at first but then Jane's familiar voice came over the speaker.

'Okay, I hope this thing is working because I am about to go into Krycek's office,' They listened to the tape for several minutes. Krycek had told Jane to be available in case he needed her to make a delivery of some supplies to the Korean embassy. Jane had agreed and then exited the office. Evidently she deactivated the recording device until several minutes later when she turned it on to report that Krycek was coming out of the underground parking and she was in pursuit. There were long silences and the only thing the two agents and Frohike could hear was the background noise of the squad cars radio.

Suddenly there was a sharp intake of breath as they could hear the squealing of tires.

'What the-' Jane had said. 'shit, shit, shit, who is this?' She sounded panicked. 'Get out of my way, bitch' Jane had screamed, evidently to someone either behind or in front of her. They could hear pounding on what must have been Jane's side window. They heard the sounds of a phone dialing and soon after heard the squad cars door open. 'Da-' and then they could hear the sounds of a struggle. They heard a smashing noise, it must have been the phone hitting the pavement. 'What the fuck do you want?' Jane had pleaded, her mouth was muffled as though someone had put their hand over her mouth. Then more shuffling noises, a car door closed, and then just silence.

"She had no idea, Mulder," Scully stated, trying to control her fear.

"No," Mulder replied. He was trying to think of what to do next. He looked at Frohike, "Where is Langley now?"

"He's still tailing Krycek," Frohike responded.

"Call him," Mulder ordered, "we're going to join him."

Mulder pulled Scully aside and headed back towards his car. He placed his hand on her elbow. "We're going to find her, Scully."

Scully simply nodded and then folded her arms as she leaned against the car. "I hope so," she replied, "we have a lot to lose here."

Mulder simply nodded his head in agreement as he waited for Frohike to complete his phone call.

"Okay, he's waiting for Krycek to come out of the Korean embassy. He'll meet us there." Frohike informed the agents.

"Let's go," Mulder ordered as he and Scully got into their car and Frohike ran back to his van.

Langley was sitting in his dark blue Chevy outside the Korean embassy when the FBI agents approached. Mulder yanked open the drivers side door and leaned in. "Where is he?"

"He's still inside," Langley replied.

"Are you sure?"

"He hasn't come out and I've been here an hour," Langley replied. "See, his car is still inside the gate," He pointed towards the dark Lincoln parked just inside the front gates to the embassy.

"Okay, we're going to sit here with you until he comes out."

Mulder returned to his car and got into the driver's seat. "Krycek is in there, we'll just wait for him to come out." He paused and glanced over at Scully, "I'm sure he will lead us to her."

Scully nodded.

They sat in the car for almost an hour, there seemed to be no activity going on inside the embassy, and Scully was starting to wonder if Krycek hadn't left by a back exit when suddenly Krycek's voice filled the car and Scully's head snapped up.

"Put her in the trunk." It was Krycek's voice coming from the speaker of the digital recorder that was nestled in Scully's inside pocket. She quickly pulled the recorder from her pocket and the agents leaned in to listen. "She's our bait, don't hurt her yet." Krycek's disembodied voice was saying.

"Mmmmhmmm." It was Jane.

Scully stopped breathing.

"Shut up!" Krycek said harshly.

Scully wanted to leap out of her seat and run into the embassy. She couldn't figure out where they were. Most likely they were on the embassy grounds, but why hadn't they heard anything before now? She knew for sure that they had to be within one square mile for the transmission to reach them so they were close. At least Jane still had the wire; right now that was their only advantage.

"Where the hell are they?" She asked Mulder who was also looking towards the empty Lincoln still parked inside of the embassy gates.

"I can't tell. Maybe in the garage." Mulder said, staring at the embassy.

Scully continued to listen to the recorder, though it had gone silent.

They waited for what seemed like hours but were in truth only several minutes. Suddenly a car appeared screaming around the corner in front of them and was headed their way. As it passed, Mulder could see Krycek at the wheel. He turned on the ignition and stepped on the gas. Making a wide U-turn he attempted to follow Krycek but the dark sedan had a considerable head start.

"Don't lose him, Mulder." Scully pleaded as she braced herself against the dashboard when the car careened around a corner.

"No chance," Mulder confidently replied.

They followed Krycek through the streets of DC all the way into Maryland.

"He's headed for the beltway," Scully exclaimed. "We're going to lose him if we let him get there."

Mulder tensely nodded his head. He knew that they could lose him if Krycek made it to the beltway. Mulder stepped on the gas and pulled up in the oncoming traffic lane. He used his vehicle to try and force Krycek off the road.

"Mulder, look out!"

A pair of headlights were bearing down on them and Mulder had to step on the brakes and swerve back into his own lane behind Krycek. "Shit!"

"Mulder," Scully clenched as she braced herself against the dashboard.

"I see..." Suddenly the oncoming car, a Bronco, screeched to a halt in front of Mulder, landing sideways and forcing the FBI agent to slam on his brakes. "Fuck!"

Krycek sped away.

The passenger and rear doors of the Bronco flew open and three men in black stepped out with their guns drawn. Scully instinctively reached for her own weapon and rolled down the window. But she couldn't get a clear shot as Mulder was already trying to back the car up so he could turn away from the invading men. The rear window shattered as a bullet pierced it. Mulder felt something hot on his neck and reached back to feel it. His neck was wet and when he brought his fingers around to look at them, saw that they were coated with blood. "Scully," He started, still driving wildly away from the Bronco. It was not pursuing them.

"Oh Mulder, you've been hit. Pull over, they aren't following."

Mulder was sure the wound wasn't serious, but did as Scully asked and pulled over. Scully turned on the dome light and reached to Mulder's neck to check it out.

"I think it's only a flesh wound, but he got a chunk of you, Mulder. You're going to need stitches."

"No, just patch it up and let's get back on the road."

"Mulder, I want to find Jane as much as you do, more-probably, but we don't even know where to start. And we can't go back that way" She jerked her head towards the road they had just come down. "We have to stop this bleeding, the last thing I need is for you to go into shock on me. Let's stop in the emergency room, get you stitched up and figure out where to go from there," Scully demanded, already getting out of her seat to walk around the car and get in the drivers side.

Mulder didn't have the energy to argue, and they still had the receiver from the recording device. They could use that to find Jane. If Krycek was headed for the beltway, however, he could be just about anywhere.

On the ride to the emergency room, Mulder used his cell phone to contact Skinner and update him on the situation. Skinner said he would put out an APB on Krycek's car, and would contact the Secret Service about Jane's abduction. Although they both thought that could be fruitless, since Jane was taken by her 'boss'. It was worth a try nonetheless. Mulder also contacted Langley who had witnessed the shoot-out from a safe distance, and when it was clear had continued his own pursuit of Krycek. He had picked him up on the beltway but when Krycek took an exit towards Baltimore, Langley lost him. At least they knew which direction Krycek was headed. And if he was using Jane as a bargaining chip, he wouldn't take her far. And he wouldn't kill her. At least not yet.

*Wednesday, 503 a.m., a warehouse in Baltimore*

Jane opened her eyes but could see nothing. She was still in the trunk of the car, even though it had been parked for over an hour. Her hands were tied behind her back, and a piece of duct tape covered her mouth. She thought that maybe her captor had abandoned the vehicle so she was desperately trying to find an escape latch that would pop open the trunk. Unfortunately, it was sealed up tight.

Suddenly she heard footsteps and she stopped fidgeting to listen. They were getting closer and her heart began to beat faster. The footsteps paused in front of the trunk and there was dead silence for several seconds. Then Jane heard a key being inserted into the trunk and before she could shut them, light from a fluorescent overhead assaulted her eyes. She quickly shut them even as someone with very unkind hands was yanking her from the trunk. She glanced up and saw the same large man as had kidnapped her in the first place.

He said nothing as he forced Jane to stand and then pushed her in front of him. They walked several feet until they reached a staircase that led to a short hall above the vast open warehouse. The door at the end of the hall opened and there stood Alex Krycek.

"Bring her in here and take off the tape," Krycek ordered.

Jane was pushed into a chair next to a small table in the center of the room. No other furnishings, except for a small sofa hidden in the corner, decorated the room. The big man tore off the tape from Jane's mouth and she grimaced at the sharp pain. She instinctively licked her lips as her eyes bored into Krycek. "What the hell do you want with me?"

"Jane, Jane, Jane," Krycek singsonged. "You should know the answer to that question." He paced back and forth in front of the frightened Secret Service officer. "You are the piece of cheese," he stopped in front of her and leaned very close to her face, "and Mulder is the rat." He stepped back and folded his arms across his chest.

"Oh, there is a rat in this whole scenario, but it isn't Mulder," Jane defiantly proclaimed.

"Maybe, but when I get done with this..." he waved his hand towards her, "...scenario," he chuckled, "Mulder will be gnawing off his legs to get free, and I will have what should have been mine all along."

"And what is that?" Jane asked.

"Scully," Krycek answered.

"What?" Jane asked incredulously.

Krycek laughed, "I'm just kidding," he said, "but I had you going, didn't I?"

"Fuck you."

"You think you are really in love with her don't you?" Krycek asked, again leaning over her and staring into her eyes.

Jane said nothing. She simply stared back at him.

"It is nice to know that Scully isn't the frigid ice queen that I thought she was." He taunted. "Still, I always kind of hoped that she would ditch the boy wonder and give me a shake." He looked at Jane to see what effect he was having. She looked pissed. 'good' he thought, he wanted to keep her so wound up that she wouldn't be able to think straight enough to forge an escape. "But, now I see that was never really possible anyway. Oh well, her loss."

"Listen, you fucking rat bastard. If anyone is going to be gnawing off their limbs it's going to be you. I see you only have three to go anyway," Jane taunted, "it shouldn't be that difficult."

Krycek stepped back as if suffering a blow.

"Why don't you just stop with the games and tell me why the fuck you kidnapped me and brought me here," Jane demanded as she looked around, "and where are we anyway?"

Krycek glared at his prisoner. "Fine, you really want to know?" he asked.

Jane nodded.

"Okay, I'll tell you," he said as he crouched in front of her chair and placed his hand on the table beside her. "It's not like you are going to be able to do anything about it anyway. Because by the time the dynamic duo find you, it will be too late."

Jane didn't want to know what he meant by that.

"Before I was tipped off to the fact that you were a double crosser, I asked you to deliver a package to the Korean Embassy."

"Yes, this much I already know." Jane stated sarcastically.

"What you don't know is that I asked you to deliver it so that it could be traced back to you and your cohorts."

"And how the hell would it do that?" Jane asked.

"That's not important." Krycek shook his head, "what is important is that it would have been exactly the evidence the FBI has been looking for to get rid of Agent Mulder."

"What was in the package?" Jane asked

"The same biological agent that caused the deaths of those other men," Krycek paused, "only this time, enough of it to wipe out an entire city block of people."

"What the hell do you mean?" Jane asked alarmed.

"You see, with or without you we are going to release this agent on the fine people living in the fair city of Richmond, Virginia." Krycek smiled, "they won't even know what hit them."

"You ARE the devil!" Jane screamed, "those are people whose lives mean something, and you are going to callously kill them? Innocent men, women and children?"

Krycek stood up and paced in front of Jane. "Innocent men, women and children. Yes. But their deaths will mean something. They will not be in vain."

"Why, because they died so YOU could exact your sick game of revenge?" Jane accused.

"No, because their deaths will ensure that others can survive." Krycek said.

"Survive what?" Jane asked, her eyes wide.

"The Second Coming." Krycek said, staring at the ceiling.

"You're insane," Jane announced.

"You know? Krycek smiled as he looked down at Jane, "I think you might be right about that, but it's beside the point. You see, this biological weapon was designed to fight off an invading colonization force." Krycek paused, "it can be used to exterminate the incipient organism of an extraterrestrial biological entity."

Jane's head snapped up, "What?"

Krycek smiled "You heard me."

"Are you saying that it is some kind of alien morning after pill?"

"In essence, yes. It is extremely toxic to humans, so much so that one ounce can essentially embalm a healthy adult. However, even though it is highly effective on human adults, it is ineffective on mature alien life. But all was not lost, through our trials we discovered that it will prevent the parturition of 'new' alien life."

"But that doesn't explain why you are going to unleash it on an entire population of people?"

"Now, I can't tell you everything. Let me just say that we think some colonization may have begun. Using this weapon now will help us determine if we have any chance for survival in the future."

"That doesn't make any sense," Jane stated.

"I don't expect you to understand," Krycek sneered, "all you need to know is that with this plan, we get rid of the aliens, the X Files, and now finally, Mulder and Scully."

"Over my dead body," Jane stated defiantly.

"I hope it doesn't come to that," Krycek stated and then turned and walked out of the room.

Jane's mind raced. She didn't know what to do first. She didn't know if she should believe Krycek, or if he was just baiting her...trying to confuse her. The one thing she was sure of, she had to reach Scully before Krycek did.

The door opened and the prehistoric man came in again. He swiftly stepped over to Jane and ripped off a piece of duct tape from the roll in his hand. He covered Jane's mouth with it. As he stepped out of the room he turned off the over head light.

Jane was plunged into darkness.

*Wednesday, 812 a.m. - Georgetown University Hospital*

Mulder was getting the final bandages put on his wound and was waiting for his tetanus shot. It took some work but Scully managed to convince the doctor on duty not to report the bullet wound as was required by law. Fortunately Scully had interned with the ER doctor and he agreed to keep quiet as a favor to the red-headed forensic specialist with whom he'd carried a torch for a long time during their internship together.

Scully finished up a phone call to Langley, the Lone Gunman had given up their search for Krycek and had returned to their headquarters in DC.

'Without a trace', Scully thought. 'Dammit, we're never going to find her!'

"Don't give up, Scully. We know that Krycek took her for a reason, and I'm guessing it's to get to us. We may have to wait for him to contact us," Mulder reasoned, as he walked towards his partner.

"I'm not waiting for anything. Are you done here?" Scully inquired as she inspected the bandage on Mulder's neck. Satisfied that Mulder's wounds had been aptly attended to, she held out his jacket, "Let's get back in the car." Scully walked towards the door.

"Where are we going?" Mulder asked, pulling on his jacket while he grimaced at the pain shooting from his neck.

Scully stopped and stared down at her keys. "I don't know."

*Wednesday, 825 a.m. a warehouse in Baltimore*

She'd never felt more violated than at that moment. With a gun to her head she'd had no choice but to comply with Krycek's orders. She only hoped that Dana would know the truth, would be able to see the truth.

She'd given her a clue....hopefully Dana would remember.

*Wednesday, 949 a.m., Scully's apartment*

Having noticed the scratches around the lock on Scully's door, both agents drew their weapons before Scully opened it. Mulder kicked the door open as soon as Dana had it unlocked. The lights were out, the curtains were closed and nothing looked like it had been touched. Then they saw the television. It was on and the screen glowed with the familiar blue background indicating that there was a tape in the VCR waiting to be played.

The agents swept the rest of the apartment and only when they were satisfied that no one was still in there with them did they re-holster their guns. Scully took off her trench coat and flung it at a nearby chair while grabbing the remote for the TV. Mulder plunked himself on the sofa next to Scully.

At first what filled the screen was the picture of an empty room with only a table and chairs. Then they heard Jane's voice and soon after she entered the camera's field of vision and sat at the table.

Scully gasped. Mulder reached for his partner's knee and gently placed his hand there.

"I suppose you are wondering what happened to me?" Jane said, emotionless on the tape, "You're instincts about me were correct, Agent Mulder. It is unfortunate that your partner does not have the same good judgment as you."

Scully's mouth dropped open. "This isn't her. This isn't true."

Mulder was inclined to agree with his partner, yet a part of him never fully trusted Jane.

"I'm sorry to do this to you Dana, but you see, you and Mulder caught on too quickly to our plans, we had to figure something out to get you off track, so Krycek came up with the brilliant plan of having you believe that I was on your side." Jane stopped and glanced over to her right. Then she continued. "However, I must inform you that I am not on your side. In fact, as you are watching this, your demise at the FBI is unfolding. By tomorrow morning you and Mulder will be sitting in a jail cell. Much like the one you and Angela sat in when you tried to get into Mexico for some underage partying. Only this time, your daddy isn't around to bail you out." Jane appeared to be wincing as she said this.

"Don't bother looking for me anymore, Dana, I have made my choices and I am happy with them. Krycek and I make a good team, don't you think?"

The screen went blank, and then there was nothing but static.

"This is bullshit, Mulder. Jane wouldn't betray us. He's forcing her to say those things!"

"Scully," Mulder started.

"She left me a clue. I didn't get arrested with Angela, I hated Angela, I got arrested with Jane!" Scully waved her hand towards the screen. "She was letting me know that everything in that tape is a lie."

Mulder was already rewinding the videotape. He then played it again, only in fast forward mode. Suddenly he froze the picture and stepped over to the VCR. He pointed at an object on the far right of the screen. "There," he stated as he looked back at Scully, "see it?"

Scully inched towards the image on the screen and looked at the object Mulder was pointing towards. "I knew it." Scully was staring at what was unmistakably the barrel of a gun. A gun pointed right at Jane's head.

"I think you're right, Scully, and besides, Krycek knows we aren't stupid enough to believe this crap, he also knows that we're not going to stop looking for Jane. So what we have to figure out is...what is the point to all of this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why would he send us this bogus tape? Where does he want us to go?" Mulder paused, "and where doesn't he want us to go?"

Scully stared into her partner's eyes. She had no idea what was to be expected, and that drove her crazy...especially because it involved Jane.

"At least one good thing," Mulder started, "we know she's still alive."

Scully nodded her head.

*Wednesday, 1200 noon, a warehouse in Baltimore*

Jane awoke with a start. The windowless room was completely dark, yet from her position lying on the sofa, she sensed someone was in the room with her.

Without warning, the duct tape over he mouth was ripped off and she was pulled upright.

"Lean forward" a woman's voice hissed.

Jane did as she was told and could feel the other woman untying the burning ropes that held her hands together.

"Dana?" She whispered, fairly certain it wasn't her lover, Dana didn't wear that brand of cologne. But there was something very familiar about the woman helping her.

"Not even close," the woman replied. "Now shut up and listen to me. You've got ten minutes to get out of here. Once I leave the room, count to twenty and then open the door and leave yourself. When you get down the steps turn to your right and exit the building through the boiler room door. Once outside, you will see a car with the keys in the ignition waiting in the alley behind this building. Drive it to the nearest rest stop, but do not drive it into Washington. I cannot tell you why, just trust me. When you get to the rest stop, you should call whomever you need to pick you up. I would drive away from Washington, so that you face less risk of being found. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Jane replied, rubbing her sore wrists.

"Good, don't fuck it up." The woman hissed and then Jane heard her step towards the door. As she opened the door and light spilled into the room, Jane caught a glimpse of her liberator. "Oh my God," She whispered, stunned.

*Wednesday, 236 p.m, a rest stop on the Baltimore/Washington Parkway*

Scully jumped out of the passenger side of the car before the car had even come to a complete stop. She raced past the tourists and weary travelers and into the rest stop visitors center. She turned her head from side to side looking for Janie's familiar face, and started to panic when she couldn't find her. Mulder jogged up behind his partner and joined in her search.

"Jesus, Mulder, what if we're too late? What if Krycek found her?"

"Look in the ladies room, Scully. Maybe she's in there. I'll go out back to the picnic area."

Scully entered the women's restroom and searched one side of empty stalls, and when she turned the corner to inspect the other side, spotted Jane sitting on the window ledge at the end of the room. Dana could feel the tears well up as she started towards her lover.

Jane looked up and breathed a sigh of relief. She stood up and wrapped her arms around Scully just as the agent reached her. They held each other, laughing and crying at the same time and not even caring if anyone saw them. Dana drew back and took Jane's mouth with hers and kissed her with the passion and pain that had been building inside of her since Jane's disappearance. Jane responded with equal fervor and the two stayed with that moment for several minutes. When they finally separated, Scully took Jane's face in her hands, "I never want to lose you." She then kissed Jane's forehead and hugged her again.

Finally, they stepped out of the bathroom, hand in hand, and looked for Mulder. They found him, standing in the grass behind the building, inspecting the bottom of his shoe with one foot raised and turned up and the other planted firmly in the grass. When he saw the two women he gave a crooked smile and returned his foot to the ground.

"Goddam dog crap," he said, pointing to his shoe as he wiped it on the grass. Then he stepped over to Jane and gave her a gentle hug, "you gave us quite a scare."

"Sorry," she murmered as she accepted Mulder's hug. When they parted, she looked down and pointed, "but it looks like you really stepped in it this time, Agent Mulder."

Scully chuckled.

"Oh, I'm glad this amuses you," Mulder said wryly, and found that he actually meant it. It was nice to see Scully with a smile on her face again. "Let's get the hell out of here before Krycek comes looking for us. We need time to figure out what's going on."

On the car ride back to Scully's apartment, Jane filled them in on everything she'd experienced and all of the information that Krycek had given her.

"What I don't understand, is how you managed to get away," Scully asked staring back at her lover in the back seat.

Jane hesitated, "I was able to wriggle out of the ropes, when Krycek left after making the video, he forgot to lock the door. I snuck out and found a car in the back of the building. As luck would have it, the keys were in the ignition."

Mulder glanced in the rearview mirror, he could tell something wasn't right, but couldn't put his finger on it. "If you had a car, why not drive it to Scully's?" He asked.

"I was afraid they would follow me if I drove towards Washington, so I went the opposite direction and decided to ditch the car."

Scully nodded her approval and glanced over at Mulder who seemed to be satisfied with Jane's explanation. Scully sensed something was different about Jane when she'd answered that question, but maybe something had happened that Jane didn't want to share with Mulder. She would remember to ask Jane about it later.

When the trio arrived at Scully's apartment, they put a call in to Skinner who said he would be over in an hour to discuss the latest events with them; particularly the information regarding the release of the toxin on innocent civilians. Jane was exhausted but was still so wired that she knew she couldn't sleep. Instead she decided to take a shower and change her clothes. That would at least make her feel better and more able to strategize with AD Skinner. Scully decided that she'd had enough with people breaking into her apartment and was sending Mulder to the hardware store to get another deadbolt to put on her door. She was a fucking federal agent and yet it seemed so easy to break into her apartment, 'what's wrong with that picture?' she thought to herself as she gave Mulder directions to the nearest hardware store.

With Mulder gone and Jane in the shower, Scully couldn't help herself. She tiptoed into the bathroom and stripped down to nothing. Then she pulled the curtain from around the old claw foot tub and found a smiling naked Jane staring at her. She smiled back and then joined her lover under the warm running water.

With their bodies pressed together they enjoyed a shared passionate kiss. Their tongues roamed and danced and explored inside each others mouths, while their hands did the same over their soft balmy skin. Scully reached for the liquid soap and squeezed some between Jane's breasts. She massaged the soap into the Secret Service officers body, rubbing it over one breast and then the other, taking care to alternately caress and pinch each nipple. Jane could feel her skin tingle and her groin leap with delight. She slipped her hand between the soft warm folds of Scully's cunt and pinched the already hardened clit that was throbbing in anticipation. As she rubbed she could feel her own excitement mount while listening to Scully's soft moans.

Scully bit into Jane's shoulder and then yelped as the first wave of orgasm came crashing over her. Barely able to stand under the rushing water, she leaned into her lover while the orgasm crested and then subsided. Sliding her arms around Jane's waist, down her back and over the crevice of her ass, Scully snaked her tongue over Jane's lips and then delved into her mouth. Jane kissed back and could hardly contain the exhilaration she was feeling.

Scully worked her kisses from Jane's mouth to her neck, her breasts, her belly button and finally to the soft crease between her lovers legs. She kneeled in front of Jane and licked at the hard nub there. Jane threw her head back and squealed, Scully darted her tongue in and out and then all at once took the throbbing clit into her mouth and sucked. Jane's moans increased in volume and frequency, until she climaxed with an audible explosion that echoed off the walls of the misty bathroom.

Scully held on until her lovers screams stopped, and then she kissed her way back up to Jane's mouth, where she then planted another long, deep kiss. After awhile, the two women realized they hadn't much time, and got down to the business of actually washing each other. Which wasn't easy to do because there were far too many distractions, not the least of which being the passion they felt between them.

Just in time for Mulder's return, Scully was dressed and in the living room. Her hair was damp, but she didn't really care that much so didn't bother to dry it. Jane, on the other hand, had short hair and was able to dry it with only a cursory attempt with the blow dryer. They'd both changed into blue jeans, Scully with a white T-shirt and green sweater, and Jane with a light blue long sleeve t-shirt.

Scully was just beginning to search for the video tape that had been left in her VCR, when the doorbell rang and she let Mulder in. He took one look at her wet hair and a smile inched across his face.

"Don't even go there, Mulder" Scully directed and took the bag from his hands. "How much do I owe you?"

"I forget, here..." Mulder took the bag from his partner, "...let me install it. I am, after all a man, and that is what we're good for."

"You're also a pig," Jane teased from the other room.

"Oh, you're killing me here," Mulder replied as he looked at the directions on the deadbolt box to see how it should be installed. Scully ignored him and walked over to the television to continue her search for the video tape.

"How does wanting to be a manly man, make me a pig?" Mulder asked while he discarded the directions and opened the package, spilling it's contents all over the floor.

"Are you feeling emasculated by our relationship?" Jane asked, spying a small grin on Dana's face as Dana was looking behind the television set.

"Our relationship?" Mulder asked on his knees while chasing down an errant bolt that had rolled under the sofa.

"No, stupid, our relationship," she stood up and put her arm around Dana's shoulders.

Scully stopped her searching and put her arm around Jane's waist, she smiled and stared at Mulder, "well?"

"Aha!" Mulder declaired as he found the bolt and then stood up with it pinched between his thumb and forefinger. He looked at Jane and Scully who were looking back at him with evil little grins on their faces. "What did you say?" He laughed.

Jane reached down, picked up a pillow and threw it at the FBI agent. Mulder deftly caught the pillow, "thank you," and then placed it on the floor in front of the door. He kneeled on it and began inspecting the door for optimum location of the new deadbolt.

Scully and Jane smiled and then shrugged their shoulders.

"I can't find the videotape of you, Jane." Scully stated, her arm sweeping across the room. "Mulder, where did you put the tape?"

"I left it in the VCR," He stated over his shoulder, while he was screwing in the new plate for the deadbolt. "I think I need a drill," he said.

"It's not in here," Scully said, poking her finger into the empty cavity of the VCR. "Dammit! That was our proof that we're not involved in whatever it is that Krycek is planning."

"Don't worry, Scully, even without the video we have Jane's testimony. We also have Skinner's. Not to mention all of the photo's that Langley and the boys have amassed."

Scully sat on the sofa next to Jane and turned to watch Mulder. "You have no idea what you are doing, do you?"

Mulder turned, "I'm hurt, Scully, you think I can't put a simple deadbolt on a door?"

"No, no I don't, Mulder." Scully asserted.

"Quit criticizing and hand me a drill." He turned back to the door and stared at it very hard, almost as if he were willing the deadbolt to attach itself by magic.

Scully chuckled and walked over to the hallway closet where she pulled out a tool kit and drill. She brought them back and handed them to Mulder. "Good luck."

Just as Mulder opened the door to cut the wood on the doorjamb, Skinner raised his hand to knock. He looked down at he array of tools Mulder had on the floor and then stepped over them and into the apartment, leaving Mulder to hold the door open.

Jerking his thumb over his shoulder, "you're not letting him fix something, are you?" Skinner asked Scully as he took off his overcoat.

Jane stood up with Dana, "he wants to prove his manliness," Jane replied, expecting a laugh and getting none. "Er, I'm Jane Whitlaw, you must be AD Skinner I presume?" She stuck out her hand to the towering AD.

Skinner accepted the officers handshake, "yes, I am. And I am very pleased that you were able to elude your captors and can shed some light into Kryceks intentions."

"I'll do my best," Jane replied, casting aside the lightheartedness of the previous hour and replying with the same seriousness as the Assistant Director.

They sat down at Scully's kitchen table to discuss what would happen next.

*Wednesday, 1013 p.m., a town square in Richmond, Virginia*

"Richmond is not as small a town as one would think," Mulder stated, returning to the surveillance van with a steaming cup of coffee. The agents were assigned to stake out the town square with the hopes that if Krycek or his cohorts showed up to release the toxin, they would be able to apprehend him beforehand. FBI agents were stationed all over the city in order to quickly mobilize should the toxin actually be released before they could prevent it.

"What's that?" Scully pointed to a figure on the television screen that seemed to be lurking near a park bench by a soda shop. "Zoom in on that guy, he's doing something strange."

The technician on the camera zoomed in on the man Scully had identified. They soon realized why he was acting strange. He had no clothes on underneath his trenchcoat and was flashing women as they walked by.

"Should we arrest him?" Mulder asked, grinning at his partner.

Scully scoffed, and turned her attention to the technician, "call the local P.D., tell them we've got a flasher out there."

Mulder's phone rang and he pulled it from his breast pocket, "Mulder."

As Mulder listened to the party on the other line, Scully continued to scan the video feeds.

"Fuck!" Mulder barked, "Scully, let's go. There's a situation."

"What?" Scully asked as she followed her partner out of the van and into the blue sedan they'd parked nearby.

"Jane and Skinner are at the Korean Embassy," Mulder started.

"Jane?!" Scully asked incredulously. They had left Jane at Scully's apartment to get some sleep. Skinner didn't want to put her in any more danger and had even assigned an agent to stand guard outside of Scully's apartment.

"I don't know what is going on, but Skinner said it could be bad for us. A lot of people are dead, and the evidence is pointing in our direction."

Scully stared at Mulder.

*Wednesday, 1150 p.m., The Korean Embassy*

They walked through the room of the Korean Embassy with masks over their faces and disbelief in their hearts. Scully couldn't believe her eyes, forty-two people dead. The fingers were pointing towards Mulder and Scully...and Jane.

"Is this the same toxin you observed in the previous autopsies?" Skinner asked Agent Scully as they both exited the room where most of the bodies were present.

"It appears to be," Scully replied.

Mulder approached the two and touched Scully's arm, "I think we know now where Krycek didn't want us to be. Telling Jane about Richmond was a ruse to get us off his tail here."

"What I can't figure out is how he got our fingerprints on that canister." Scully puzzled, looking at the canister that had already been dusted and scanned.

"We have an aliby, Scully, we were with Skinner when this went down. Right in your kitchen."

"Even if I testified to that fact, they've still got you involved. This could cause you to be suspended indefinitely."

"If? Sir?" Mulder stared at the AD. "What the hell do you mean by 'if'?"

"I warned you that I couldn't save your butts if you got caught."

"Excuse me, sir?" Scully replied just as astonished as her partner.

"Look, Scully, if it comes down to me having to testify as the only means to escape charges over this, I will do it. But I don't think my cautious approach here is unwarranted. If they entrap all three of us, how much good am I going to be to you or the FBI?"

"Or the truth," Mulder mumbled and then walked back into the room of dead bodies.

"The fact remains that your fingerprints are on that canister, and we have to find out why and how." Skinner stated to Scully, who was looking after her partner and wondering if she should follow him.

"Right," She stated coldly.

Skinner ignored her indignation and forged ahead. "Can you think of any time when you and Mulder would have come into contact with the container?"

Scully mulled it over but couldn't come up with an explanation. "I'll think about it, but nothing comes readily to mind."

Skinner nodded his head and walked back into the room where Mulder had entered minutes before. Passing him in the doorway was a pale looking Jane.

"They think they can prove that the gun used to shoot the security guard at the front desk was mine." Jane stated matter of factly, "the weapon found in the trash can was registered to me, and it's only a matter of time before the ballistic testing proves so."

"Jane, don't worry about that. We still have the recording of you being kidnapped, and that can prove that your weapon was taken from you. Besides, you reported that fact to your commander, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Then you're covered," Scully stated.

"But you're not, and we need to figure out how to protect you," Jane stepped closer to the FBI agent, "think back over the last couple of days, retrace your steps. Did you ever come into contact with that container?"

Scully thought, she went back over the last couple of days and thought about where she'd been with Mulder. The hotel, her apartment, the office, the hospital, the rest stop, a restaurant. Suddenly her head snapped up "The hospital."

Scully grabbed Mulder and they told Skinner they were following a lead. They raced to the hospital where Mulder had been treated and flashed their badges to the security officer in the monitor room.

"We need to see your surveillance tapes from this morning. ER and admitting." Scully barked at the guard.

The guard entered a small closet that was filled with VCR's and pulled a tape from one of them. He set the agents and Jane up at a table with a monitor and pushed the tape into the machine. "What time?" He asked.

"Between Seven and nine," Scully instructed.

The guard fast forwarded the tape to seven a.m. and then left the trio to watch on their own. At time index 0811 the tape showed Scully standing at the admitting desk talking on the phone. Behind her a figure approached and placed a cart with the canister on top of it. The cart would be in her path once she turned around.

Scully and Mulder remembered simultaneously. "That was when I approached you and you turned around to answer, after my shot," Mulder remembered.

"I bumped into the canister and it tipped. We both tried to catch it!" Scully exclaimed.

And as if on cue, the video showed exactly that. They watched for several minutes afterwards, and then saw the same figure that had placed the canister pick it up and leave.

Jane clapped her hands. "That's your proof. That exonerates you!"

While Mulder and Scully were less excited than Jane, they did feel a weight fall off their shoulders as they made a copy of the tape and took it with them. They would show this to the CIA agent in charge of the Korean Embassy case, and then turn over all of their surveillance of Krycek. This would end it for them, they were done. Let the CIA deal with the rat bastard.

*Friday, 934 a.m., Basement of the FBI building*

Mulder and Scully, having been summoned by Skinner, were waiting in an empty photo lab for their former boss to show up. They were unsure of what to expect, as his message had been unusually cryptic. The CIA had taken possession of all their evidence, before Mulder could even make copies (of course the Lone Gunman had already done so), and since that time they had refused to give the agents any information.

Skinner entered the room and closed the door behind him. Scully and Mulder straightened up as if to do so would aid in their hearing.

"Krycek is gone, no trace. We'll never get our hands on him. Forty-two people were murdered in the Korean Embassy, but the Government refuses to release information about the cause of their deaths. For now they are classifying it an internal Korean matter and the CIA have been called off the case. The documents you and Jane collected on this case have all disappeared, except for the surveillance tape, which is sitting in the safe in my office. It is my belief that it is the only reason that this incident has been swept under the rug. If they had been able to pin it on you, this would have been an international event, the likes of which surpass any such incident in recorded history. The three of you, Jane included, would have been sent to Korea for trial. You most certainly would have been put to death. But given the fact that you were watching Krycek while he was testing the toxin on those homeless men, and the fact that you had evidence of that, coupled with the video tape and my testimony," Skinner paused, "they have no grounds by which to investigate this as an FBI matter. To my knowledge, this case is over and the United States has washed their hands of it."

"Whatever pact the Korean's made with Krycek, it was worth the lives of forty-two of their own people. Framing you would have been the icing on the cake. It was certainly a goal, but not the primary goal. Unfortunately for us their primary goal was achieved."

"Which was what, sir?" Scully asked. "to test a bio-weapon? That doesn't make any sense, why test it on their own people?"

"Perhaps this will illuminate you, Agent Scully." Skinner hesitated, "the information about the toxin that Krycek fed to Officer Whitlaw," Skinner paused again, "there is no way to substantiate or corroborate it, except to say this. There was one survivor at the Korean Embassy."

Mulder and Scully both looked at Skinner with interest.

"A woman. A woman who was treated at DC General Hospital right after the incident." Skinner looked away from the agents, then back. "A woman who was treated after suffering a miscarriage."

"Jesus," Mulder whispered.

"Traces of the toxin were found in the fetal matter removed from the uterus following a pelvic examination."

"Jesus," Scully whispered.

"While the DNA of the fetal matter was human, there were also traces of DNA that could not be categorized."

"Jesus," Scully and Mulder whispered in unison.

"The woman has since disappeared."

*Friday, 647 p.m., Scully's apartment*

Scully was preparing dinner while Jane attended to her laundry. She'd been living out of plastic bags for the last week, running to her apartment to get what she needed and had then collected a pile of dirty laundry at Scully's apartment by the end of the week. She'd decided to take a couple of days off following her abduction and had holed up in Scully's apartment. Unfortunately, Scully still had to go to work and was given a surveillance assignment by her current AD. That had kept her and Jane apart the entire previous day. But tonight was theirs, and they were going to make it special.

Scully had just finished fishing out the last of the bay leaves from the spaghetti sauce when Jane came back in from the laundry room. When she opened the front door a piece of metal landed on her foot and she howled in pain. Scully heard her cries and came running in from the kitchen.

"God damned Mulder and his emasculation hang ups!" Jane muttered, as she kicked the deadbolt plate across the floor.

Scully stared after it as it went flying into the other room and then turned back to Jane with a grin on her face. "I knew I would have to put that thing on myself. Poor Mulder."

"Poor Mulder!? What about poor me?"

Scully stepped over to Jane and kissed her on the nose, "poor Janie." And then Scully kissed her on the check, and then the neck and then the lips...where she lingered for awhile before finally pulling away. "You know, we should feel somewhat sorry for Mulder."

"How so?" Jane asked, not removing her arms from around Dana's waist.

"We have each other," Scully kissed Jane again, "Mulder only has his video of the month club."

*Friday, 700 p.m., Mulder's Apartment*

Mulder entered his building after a five mile run through Rock Creek Park and then sprinted up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. When he reached his apartment he found a small package on the floor in front of his door. He scooped it up and entered his apartment. After putting his ear to the box to make sure it wasn't an explosive device, Mulder opened the package. Inside were a note and videotape. The note read, 'I know you hate to lose, but to prove there are no hard feelings, I got you this present. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Love, Krycek.'

Mulder put the video into his VCR and hit play. He thought maybe it was the tape of Jane...he was halfway right.

After a few confusing minutes of watching a poorly made home video of two women making out on a park bench, Mulder heard a familiar voice start to narrate, 'Kate' she said as way of introduction. And then appearing on the screen in a doctor's coat and fishnet stockings (presumably with nothing on underneath), much to Mulder's disbelief was a younger, gyrating, Scully. She was doing what appeared to be a striptease for another women that was tied, naked, to a chair.

The other woman was Jane.

When the Scully in the video seductively leaned down to kiss the Jane in the video, Mulder turned the television off and practically ripped the cassette out of his VCR. He looked at the label on the tape as if seeing it for the first time and saw that it read 'The Color of Midnight'.

His fury over the fact that Krycek had probably watched this entire tape was so intense that he wanted to smash his foot through the television screen. What the hell was he going to do? Should he tell Scully? What would be the point? She would only feel violated. On the other hand, if he didn't tell, and Krycek had copies of this it could spell big trouble for Scully down the road. And what should he do with the tape in his hand? Destroy it? Give it to Scully? Give it to Jane? Keep it?

Mulder mulled over his choices, not liking any of them, and unable to come up with a solution. The only thing he did know was that he wanted to kill Krycek more now than ever before. How dare that rat-bastard-mother-fucking-one-armed-son-of-a-bitch violate Scully in this way. He would exact revenge, of that much Mulder was sure.

And then it occurred to him, now he knew why Jane called Scully 'Kate'. And in spite of his anger at Krycek, and his embarrassment at having seen Scully in that way, he had to smile a little bit over that one.

He'd decided what to do.

*Friday 847 p.m., Scully's Apartment*

"You're amazing," Jane said to her red headed lover as she leaned back and wiped her mouth, "not only can you heal people, solve crimes and dance. But god damned if you can't cook too!"

Scully blushed as she stood and took her plate to the sink. "I can do a couple of other things pretty well too, ya know."

"Ah, yes. This I do know." Jane lifted her own plate and joined Scully at the sink. "I know this very, very well," the young officer whispered as she bestowed little kisses along her lover's silky neck.

Dana turned and caught Jane in her arms. She kissed her with a passion that transcended the banality of their environment. She kissed her with all of the feeling and warmth that had been building ever since Jane's arrival. Jane kissed back and before long the two women were slowly swaying their bodies to a rhythm that seemed to emanate from their own desire.

Jane slowly unbuttoned Scully's blouse and let it fall on the floor in front of the sink. Next came her jeans, bra and panties. Scully stood there naked before her and Jane still could not believe her good fortune in having found Dana again. She almost wept at the thought, at the fear, or losing her. She wouldn't let that happen again. This time was forever.

Jane let Scully undress her and soon both women were facing each other without the vestments that separated them. Now, standing naked in Scully's kitchen, Jane's longing overcame her. She took Dana's hands and placed them at her shoulders, holding them gently as Dana began a meticulous exploration of her fevered form. Closing her eyes, Jane waited, anticipated, ached.

As Jane leaned against the kitchen sink, Dana traced Jane's collarbone, then trailed her fingertips down the swell of Jane's breasts. She circled the nipples, missing them by a shadow, then caressed the underside of the fleshy mounds. She cupped them, squeezed them, glided a palm across each, lingering just long enough to coax Jane's nipples to stiff peaks.

Jane gasped and arched into Dana's hands.

Shifting slightly, Dana continued her examination of Jane's body, almost as if she hadn't ever seen or felt it before. The need in her own body was growing and her capacity to love this woman seemed to be overflowing.

Janie moaned as Dana skimmed her nails across the tender flesh of Jane's abdomen, then playfully looking into Jane's eyes, raked them through the lush crop of hair that covered her mound. She sighed, tilting her head, her breath hot on Jane's neck.

Jane's legs trembled.

Dana eased her fingers between them. She tickled the soft skin on her outer lips and then reached deeper, the heel of her hand pressing on Jane's still hidden clitoris.

Jane gasped and grabbed Dana's shoulders for balance. Dana nuzzled her neck. She trailed the tip of her tongue over the hollow of Jane's throat. Her fingers found Jane's center.

Jane sucked in a long breath, "I love you, Dana. God, I love you so much."

Scully dragged her fingers up the length of Jane's slit, opening her folds completely. Her lingering touch prodded and teased Jane's already throbbing clit.

Jane's knees buckled. She clung to Dana. Their mouths met and Jane snaked her tongue between Scully's lips.

Scully increased the pressure to Jane's clit and began a rhythmic motion with her fingers, all the while allowing her tongue to dance with Jane's. Jane could barely stand and was leaning heavily against Dana as they continued their slow torturous dance.

As the blood began to build and pound in her center, suddenly Jane went wild. She ground her cunt against Scully's hand. Her hips bucked and jerked. Scully's fingers found one of Jane's erect nipples and closed around it. She rolled it, fondled it. She lowered her head and covered the other with her mouth. Her breath enflamed the sensitized nub, but her lips eluded it.

Jane whimpered. Squeezing her eyes shut, she arched her back, forcing her breast higher, hard against Dana's mouth.

Scully sucked it in deep. First one nipple, and then the other. She let her tongue explore every inch of the other woman's breasts and then sucked at the nipples again. Through all of this, her hand never wavered from Jane's hot and nearly climaxing cunt. Dana returned her mouth to Jane's and kissed her again. Scully could feel Jane climaxing beneath her, could even feel her heart pounding, her breath becoming jagged, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

Finally, Jane thrust her hips, her legs open wide, she rocked against Dana. Wave after wave of pleasure overcame her and in an exhausted heap, she fell against her lover.

Dana wrapped her arms around Jane and kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. She held her tight as Jane continued to enjoy the after effects of her orgasm. Slowly, Jane regained control and stood up straight.

"I love you, Kate," Jane said.

"I love you, too," Dana replied. And arms wrapped around each other's waist, the two women headed to the bedroom to continue their lovemaking into the wee hours of the morning.

The dirty dishes could wait.

*Monday, 650 a.m., Scully's Apartment*

"I'm coming, hold on!" A frustrated Scully yelled towards the pounding of the front door. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped her terry cloth robe around her. Throwing a towel over her hair she ran to the living room and to the door. Looking through the peephole she saw an already dressed, and distressed looking, Mulder.

She opened the door, "Mulder, what is it?"

"Hi Scully, sorry, I should have called."

"No, that's okay. What is it, is something wrong?"

"Is Jane here?" Mulder asked, still standing in the doorway.

"No, she had to leave early for work. She's being reassigned today. Why?"

"Can I come in?"

Scully stepped aside to let Mulder enter the apartment and then closed the door behind him. "Mulder, what is this all about? You look terrible."

"Gee, thanks, Scully."

" You know what I mean. Now I wish you would tell me what's going on."

Mulder looked at his feet and then to the package in his hands as if he had forgotten it was there. He thrust the package to Scully. "Here, I debated whether to give this to you or not. But I finally decided that I had to let you decide what to do about it."

"Mulder, what are you..." Scully accepted the package with a quizical look on her face.

"It's a video tape..." He blurted. "Of Jane..."

Scully interrupted him, "Mulder, I already told you, I trust Jane and I don't care what is on this tape. I'm not going to..."

"And you..." Mulder cut in.

Scully thought for a minute, "Oh," Then she looked panicked, "Oh..."

"Yeah," Mulder replied.

"Oh, oh, fuck." Scully sat down in the nearest chair with a thump. "Did you..." she pointed to the tape.

"Barely, only enough to know that it was something I shouldn't be watching." Mulder reported, sitting on the sofa across from his partner.

"Where did you get this?" Scully asked, as she removed the tape from the box and then stared at it.

"Well, this is the hard part, Scully. Krycek left it for me at my door."

Scully just stared at Mulder, wishing with all her might that he did not just say what she thought he said.

"I don't know if this is the only copy or not." Mulder stated.

"It's the original," Scully determined after examining the cassette. "We only had two copies, mine and Jane's. Mine was destroyed, but I can't imagine how Jane's copy landed in Krycek's lap."

"I imagine that after he realized the two of you were together, he rooted through Jane's apartment and found it. She probably doesn't even know it's gone." Mulder hoped this was true, he wasn't even about to doubt Jane's loyalties now.

"Yeah," Scully stated, still stunned and feeling more violated than she had ever felt before. She could only hope that Krycek didn't have the time to make a copy. They had put a copy protector on the film, but Scully knew that even a first year a/v student could get past that. "Listen, Mulder, I don't know how to explain this to you..."

Mulder stood up, waving his hand at Scully, "You don't have to explain. Jesus Scully, I'm the last one to judge about something like this."

Scully smiled, still extremely embarrassed, but also grateful that it was Mulder who had the tape and not Skinner, or God forbid the Lone Gunmen.

"And besides, look on the bright side," Mulder started as he headed for the door with Scully behind him. He paused as he put his hand on the doorknob.

"What bright side?" Scully asked.

Mulder turned the knob and opened the door. Glancing sideways at Scully, "now you don't have to explain to me why Jane likes to call you Kate." He slipped through the door before Scully's fist had a chance to land.

Still, in spite of herself, she had to chuckle. How fucking ironic was all of this? Mulder had always been the porn addict, yet she was now the porn queen. How quickly things change, Scully thought as she returned to the bathroom to finish getting ready for the day. She made a mental note to ask Jane about the tape. She wished there were some way of finding out if Krycek had made a copy or not. She could be in big trouble if that tape fell into the wrong hands.

*Monday, 737 a.m., Jane's office*

Janie was looking through the brief notes for her new assignment. She was still in uniform division, but now she was assigned to the day shift Vice Presidential detail. This was a much better job because it involved some desk time as she had to be briefed daily on the Vice President's activities and on all threats that came through the office. It involved more detective work, as she was part of a division that followed up on those threats, sometimes making arrests only minutes before an assassination attempt could be carried out. If the American citizens only knew how many times their executive leaders were almost gunned down, they'd never allow them to go out in public. But that was why Jane had a job, to keep the public from knowing.

She was deeply lost in a report about a recent arrest on a schizophrenic woman who had managed to actually penetrate the outer security of the executive office building when her door opened abruptly. Jane looked up, and when she saw who it was, felt her heart start to pound in her chest.

"I can see you're surprised to see me." The woman said as she entered the office and closed the door behind her. Dropping a package on the stunned officer's desk she looked amused, "close your mouth, sweetheart, it doesn't become you."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jane asked, slowly regaining her senses.

"I'm here to save your ass, yet again."

"Why did you save me in the first place? It's not like you care anymore," Jane replied bitterly. "In California you told me to take a hike. Well, I did. And now you show up again and again. What, are you having trouble letting go?"

"Don't flatter yourself. There is a bigger picture here."

"Care to tell me what that is?" Jane retorted, returning to her seat and glancing at the package on her desk.

"No."

"Fine." Jane replied, "what the hell is this?" She jutted her chin towards the package.

"Consider it a gift. One I didn't think that Krycek deserved."

Jane stood up again and walked around her desk, facing the other woman, she asked, "how did you get mixed up with the likes of him in the first place? And if you're working for him, whey did you untie me in that warehouse he was keeping me in. Why did you let me go?"

Diana Fowley sneered at Jane, "Like I said, there's a bigger picture. That asshole Krycek doesn't know what he's doing half the time. And this time he fucked up royally. His days are numbered. As are your pretty little girlfriends."

Jane straightened up and her eyes must have been on fire because Diana balked.

Putting her hand, palm forward, in front of her, "don't get your knickers in a twist, I'm not after her." Diana's eyes softened, "or you."

Jane looked down, and then reached for the door, "that's over, Diana. I don't care to re-live it. Please leave."

"Listen, Jane," Diana started, "I don't hold any grudges against you. I don't know why you would hold them against me. After all, I did save your pretty little neck." Diana took a step closer and gently traced her fingertips across the hollow of Jane's neck.

Jane jerked backwards and looked down. "I would like for you to please leave now," she said breathlessly, not looking at the woman standing before her.

Diana pouted, but did as she was told. Before closing the door she looked back at Jane, "I'm guessing our paths will cross again, sweetheart."

"I'm hoping they won't" Jane replied and then pushed the door shut and locked it.

She had no idea what she would say to Dana about this. She wasn't even sure she would need to say anything, the last thing Jane wanted to do was rehash the past. Besides, would Dana's path ever cross Diana's? She doubted it.

Jane returned to her desk, still lost in thought, and then realized she hadn't looked inside of the package Diana had left. Reaching inside of her desk she pulled out a letter opener and sliced through the tape on the box. She opened it and peered inside.

It was a videotape.

The End.

* * *


End file.
